Remnant of Dreams
by Lt. Commander Richie
Summary: A year has passed since Penance, and everyone is happy. But a chain of events, beginning with Mira Leirbach's birthday and escalating as Vincent is called to Kalm by Reeve, will end where nobody could have expected it to. PERMANENT HIATUS 'CAUSE I HATE IT
1. Happy Birthday

**Remnant of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

_((**Disclaimer:**I only own what you don't know as canon. Unless you accept my fiction as fanon. But that would be creepy. On a side note, T. Costa got the 200th review for Penance, and as such T. Costa gets a cameo. Yay her!))_

_**To comrades who have come down from the sky once again,**_

_**To comrades who have gathered together once again.**_

_**This story is dedicated to you...**_

_Chapter 1_

* * *

_The personal Journal of Dr. Hojo of ShinRa,_

_March 23rd, Era 0008 010._

_The Jenova Project, while completed by Sephiroth's accomplishment of sustaining the Jenova Cells for so long, has not yet come to a complete standstill. Originally begun as the means to create a perfect SOLDIER, other means of using the Project's rather extensive funding has been found. Cloning Sephiroth, our crowning achievement, has come no shorter to greatness than the original feat. Every one of the clones is distinctly different, a trait brought on by the extensive coddling given to them that they do not rightly deserve. They are specimens, not children!_

_My only concern is this: while all the male clones are different, varying in exponential growth and physical structure, the female clones are not. Every last one is an exact genetic copy of the one before. My speculation may be that since only one female with the correct genetics has cells in storage here that somehow she is responsible. The cells of Ifalna Gainsborough are precious few, but also compatible with Sephiroth's own genetic code; this is more than likely due to the Calamity Cells and Ancient Cells being nearly one and the same._

_The female specimens are all in perfect health, vitals are all completely normal, but there has been one problem in every singe one. Each specimen looks the same, and they all have absolutely no brain functions to speak of. This lab has succeeded in creating a fully-blooded Cetra in the female specimens, and yet there is nothing to show for it because we cannot test them._

_ If a new female specimen is not created, with a completely different genetic code all to its own and cerebral functions rivaling that of the male specimens or surpassing, the entirety of the female specimen lab will be cleaned out and its incompetent researchers will be... How to say this... Disposed of, rather cleanly, by the Turks. Obviously they cannot do their jobs correctly, so they will be replaced if failure is to result again._

* * *

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!" Everyone in the room sang, an open PHS on the counter in front of the now eight-year-old echoing the same tune from a man on the other side of the Planet. "Happy birthday, dear Mira! Happy birthday to you!" The song finished on a high note as the birthday girl blew her eight candles out, the dark-haired man standing above Mira putting on a show of hitting the last note the longest. Everyone laughed as Yuffie went to shove him, but he moved out of the way.

"C'mon, now! I can't sing for my kid?" Zack asked, smiling widely. "Never got to celebrate her first seven birthdays, now you're all taking swipes at me for being here?"

"Yuf-fie, leave'im alone!" Mira whined, leaning over the side of her chair. The threadbare red ribbon holding her hair back fell to her forehead, and with a more subdued and loving smile Zack knelt down and pushed it up to the top of her head. The little girl had grown her hair long, but it was still an untameable bushy mess of spikes and chunks of shorter hair. With a squeal, the little girl jumped forward out of her seat and latched herself onto her father as tightly as she could. The two fell backwards onto the Seventh Heaven's wooden floors, the wood creaking from the high-speed impact of two people with SOLDIER strength happily tussling.

"Break it up, both of you! You'll put a hole through my floor!" Tifa said, coming into the front of the bar with a long knife in one hand. Zack paused, pulling his daughter into a headlock with one arm where she couldn't get to him with her fists.

"Uh-oh." He said, looking down at the unruly mass of hair trapped between his arm and his side. "Teef's got a knife. We'd better do as she- Eugh!" Mira opened her mouth and licked Zack's arm heartily, leaving a trail of slobber. He let her go, wiping frantically at his afflicted limb. With a triumphantly ferocious cry, the eight-year-old jumped onto her father's shoulders and hung onto his nose. Even Cloud laughed at this, Tifa trying hard not to join as she scolded them all for encouraging such high-powered tussling.

"'Ey, 're we gonna eat or what?" Cid asked, turning one of the chairs around and sitting down with his arms crossed on the table. Tifa smiled and plunged the knife in her hand into the cake, cutting out three large slices from the monster of a cake. Each was placed onto a plate and passed around, Zack peeling the eight-year-old on his shoulders off his face and placing her in her chair at the head of the table. A little paper crown that Marlene had made had fallen off onto the table, and with a smile the First Class placed it back on her bushy spikes. The largest of the pieces was put in front of the birthday girl, along with a fork. The next two were placed in front of Cloud and Zack, forks given to them as well. As soon as everyone was served, Mira plunged her fork into her cake and pulled off a chunk that was almost too big to fit into her mouth. Somehow she managed, though, and chewed quickly before swallowing and beaming at Tifa.

"Thank you! It's really good!" She said, taking a smaller forkful of the chocolate cake with chocolate icing and a white icing Buster Sword on top. Everyone dug in after that, with the exception of Zack.

"Try it, Zack! 'S good." Cloud said, pausing with a large forkful of cake halfway to his mouth.

"With my apologies to miss Lockheart, I'm a Summon. I don't think I'm supposed to eat." Zack shrugged, twirling his fork around his fingers. "Not that it doesn't look good, but I've just never seen a Summon eat. I mean, really; if the Shiva Summon ate anything she wouldn't be able to fit into those scraps of cloth she calls clothing!"

"How many times have I asked you to stop calling me that?" Tifa asked from behind the bar, where she was washing off the knife she had used to cut the large birthday cake. "Just call me Tifa."

"Aw, c'mon!" Zack whined, finally resigning himself and plunging his fork into the cake. "You know you'll always be the tour guide in the cowboy hat to me!" Everyone laughed, even Vincent gave a small chuckle. Reeve had long since said his goodbyes, hanging up his end of the PHS connection. Yuffie coughed a few times on her cake in the middle of a laughing fit, pounding herself on the chest a few times. Mira shoveled her last bite of cake into her mouth, setting her fork down and pushing her plate away. Next to her, after his first bite of the cake, Zack had also dug in like he hadn't eaten for several years.

"I'm done now, can I open presents yet?" The eight-year-old asked hopefully. Tifa shook her head, sighing.

"Wait until everyone is done, alright?" She asked, and Mira nodded. The little girl crossed her arms across her chest and pouted dramatically, glaring at the pile of presents in the center of the table that taunted her so.

"Patience is a virtue." Vincent reprimanded, and the eight-year-old blew a lock of hair out of her eyes.

"He's right, you know." Zack said, pausing with a forkful of cake halfway to his mouth. "Man, Teef, this stuff is good."

"I suppose that anything eaten by someone who hasn't even seen food for a good while will be good." Tifa smiled, sliding the knife into the knife rack and coming back around the bar.

"Ah, c'mon! Don' be s'hard on yerself! Yer a damn good cook, Teef, s'git over it." Cid said, putting another piece of cake into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. "An' th' cake's a piece'o work." Zack nodded in agreement, making muffled noises around the remains of the cake in his mouth.

"How 'bout now?" Mira pestered, one hand sneaking slowly towards a small wrapped disc. With a sigh, her father pushed the present closer, and she tore into the blue Chocobo-print wrapping paper with gusto. Tifa gave him a disapproving look, but didn't move the rest of the eight-year-old's pile of presents any farther down the table. With the paper gone, a metal bracelet with four slots in it glinted dully in the lighting of the bar.

"Happy birthday, Mira." Cloud smiled, pointing his fork at the bracelet that the girl had already latched around one of her small wrists. "That's a Four Slots, the slots are for Materia." With a brilliant smile, Mira dug into her pockets and pulled out her Materia one-by-one. Her Summon the Dead Materia glinted darkly next to the more cheery bright green of the Esuna given to her by her friend Kelsey and the frosty blue of an Ice Materia mailed to her for her birthday from some of her last remaining relatives, Rick and Ilsa Fair. Methodically, she slid each into a slot, leaving one open next to her Summon.

"We'll have to fix that blank spot, right kiddo?" Yuffie asked, leaning over the back of Mira's chair. The eight-year-old nodded, reaching for another of her presents. This one was slightly larger and was wrapped in the _Rocket Town Sunday Funnies_, as the title taped haphazardly over a hole in the paper stated. A few rips and tears, and a model rocket kit lay unwrapped in front of her. She smiled, thanking Cid heartily before pulling the smallest of her boxes towards her empty plate. It was wrapped in cloth and taped haphazardly together, and with a few pulls the eight-year-old sat the handkerchief wrapping on her lap and opened the small cardboard box and upended it. On a long green ribbon a metal pendant hung, three heads, a wing and a chain tail glinting brighter than the Four Slots at Mira's wrist.

"Thank you, Vincent." She was very formal, taking the two ends of her new necklace and tying them around her neck tightly. Unlike the worn and frayed ribbon in her hair, the knot on the ribbon around her neck stayed where it was supposed to.

"Of course." The gunman nodded once, putting his last bite of cake in his mouth before setting his fork down on his plate and standing up with both in hand. In the space it took Mira to rip open the paper of her next present, he deposited the dirty dish in the bar's sink and made it back to his chair. A small tiara sparkled in the table in front of Mira's seat, surrounded by torn rice paper and a long silk bow. With a glare and a raised eyebrow, the eight-year-old looked up at the Ninja hanging over the back of her seat.

"Yuffie?" She asked, taking the paper crown off her head carefully and putting the very nice present on her head. It was nearly drowned by the messy black spikes carefully held back by her ribbon, but sparkled triumphantly on its perch.

"Yeah?" The Kunoichi asked, pulling the tiara from the little girl's head and placing it back with a better perch and hold on her hair.

"I'm eight, and I do more boy stuff than all the boys in my class put together." Everyone laughed, Zack getting to his feet and tousling Mira's hair with one hand.

"Don't worry, I think you're responsible enough to have something like that." Zack pulled his hand away and the tiara stayed put, spikes of hair popping slowly back into place as his form began to dissolve.

"Hey, kiddo? I gotta go. You'll be alright with all these hooligans, right?" The SOLDIER asked jokingly, smiling. Mira nodded solemnly, fixing the sparkly gift on her head and smiling.

"Right." In a swish of air that smelled of flowers, the Summoned First Class was gone.

* * *

_... Yeah, I just killed my fanbase. I need to go hide in a corner and cry now that I realize just how badly this sucks._


	2. Blank

**Remnant of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer:**_ I can't really think of anything to say about this bloody story so far. It's kind of getting on my nerves, is what it is. I just don't think it's as good as Penance. I'll just have to try harder, then. I've been getting some great feedback on this so far, though. Maybe it's not too bad.  
_

_Chapter 2_

* * *

It wasn't long before Tifa decided it was time to end the festivities. Wrapping paper, strewn everywhere, was dutifully pulled together into a single mass and then taken outside to the dumpster. Mira still wore her new tiara, taking extra care to keep it balanced in her messy hair. Around her on the floor were pieces of her model rocket, a tube of glue next to her foot and her Four Slots jingling merrily. 

"S' now yeh gotta take th' clear piece..." Cid paused reading the directions for a moment, then motioned to Nanaki. "'Ey, Red, c'mere. Th' directions switched lang'ages again." With a sigh, the lion got to his feet and walked over to the Pilot. He narrowed his one good eye at the fine text, and then sat down and curled his tail away from the curtains.

"You have to glue the cockpit onto the main body after snapping all of the chairs into place." He sighed, laying down and twitching his nose a few times. Mira looked puzzled, looking at the two pieces of plastic she was trying to keep together as the glue dried.

"But my hands are full!" She protested, making a face. Cid sat the directions down on the ground in front of Nanaki, taking the drying bits of rocket from the eight-year-old and holding the cockpit end towards her.

"Now try." She smiled and picked up the bag with the pieces for the cockpit, ripping it open with her teeth and then pulling out the chairs. She pushed the first one in, but when she drew her hand away the chair came away with it. Glaring, she pushed the chair back in and then drew her hand away quickly. The chair still stuck, and Cid let out a barking laugh.

"Yeh got glue on yer fingers. Wipe it off'n then try." he said, and Mira pulled the chair off her fingers with her other hand and wiped the glue-covered hand on the floor. Little rolls of gummy residue rubbed off onto the wood, and she tried pulling the chair from her other hand. It gave a bit, but wouldn't come off. She made a noise of annoyance and shook her hand vigorously, but the chair wouldn't come off. The girl got to her feet, brushing off her pants legs with one hand and holding the glue-covered hand with the chair stuck to it to the side.

"I'm gonna get Tifa to get this off." She said, nodding to Cid before turning and running for the kitchen. A few steps away she stumbled over one of Denzel's sneakers, her arms raising to protect her face in what she thought to be an imminent fall. Instead two hands steadied her, and she opened her eyes to a field of pink.

_"Be careful where you're running!" A familiar voice laughed, pushing Mira back to her feet and examining the little plastic chair stuck to her fingers. "We'll need to get that off of there, won't we?"_

_"Aerith!" Mira jumped forward, hugging the Cetra about the neck. The two laughed for a minute, before the woman finally pulled the eight-year-old away from her neck and picking at the glue on her fingers. The chair popped off into Aerith's hand, and she pushed into the girl's hand. With a smile the woman stood, tousling the younger's hair and nearly knocking her tiara into the flowers they stood in._

_"Happy birthday." Mira looked up at Aerith with a smile, holding up her Four Slots on her arm._

_"Cloud gave this to me for my birthday. I can put all my Materia in it." She adopted an expression of mock-dejection, a smile barely showing through. "But I don't have enough to put in all four of the slots. Yuffie said she would get me another Materia to put in it!"_

_"I'm too late, she's already corrupted your mind with her Materia-loving ways." Aerith laughed, and held out one closed hand. She opened it with a jingle of her bracelets against each other, and a single clear orb of Materia sat in it. "Here you go, a piece of Blank Materia. Give it time, and it'll become whatever it wants to." In awe the eight-year-old took the clear piece of Materia, sliding it into the final slot next to her Summon the Dead Materia. "Happy birthday, Mira."_

_"Thank you!" The girl said, looking up and expecting to see the Cetra._

"Ey, Mira, I thought y'were gonna get Teef t'get that chair off'a yer hand." Cid's voice made Mira jump and whirl around, her hand moving straight to her head to keep her tiara from falling.

"I got it!" The girl said, running back to where the pilot and Nanaki sat surrounded by bits of model rocket. She carefully inserted the chair into the cockpit, sitting down and pulling the other chairs out and inserting them as well before carefully putting a line of glue along the clear windshield of the rocket and pushing it into place. "What next?" The eight-year-old asked, and Cid looked up from his watch. He carefully let go of the rocket, setting it down on the bits of wrapping paper requisitioned for exactly that purpose. He stood, his back popping in several places as he ran a hand through his hair.

"What's next is bed fer'yeh." He said, pulling a pack of cigarettes and tapping it on the side of his hand.

"But..." Mira trailed off, getting up as well. She stuck out her lower lip, her wide blue eyes glowing mournfully as she tried to get a later bedtime.

"But nothin', yer goin't bed if'n I hafta throw yeh over m'shoulder an' bring yeh up there m'self." The ultimatum delivered, the girl abandoned her puppy-dog eyes and stuck her tongue out at the pilot, pulling one lower eyelid down with one finger before running for her and Marlene's room. Nanaki yawned and stretched, his tail waving dangerously close to the curtains before he snapped it away and padded across the room towards the bar. Despite the large cat's attempts to create something better, everything in the bar was too high for him to eat off of. There was also no room to put anything else in, so he was stuck. With the best of his dignity, the cat lapped at his water bowl a few times before wiping water off his whiskers with the back of one paw.

"'M never gonna git used't see'in yeh eatin' outta'a giant cat bowl." Nanaki glared at the pilot, who was unscrewing the smoke detector. With that done, he proceeded to light up a cigarette and take a long drag.

"If Shera ever gets you to stop smoking, I'll never get used to that either." The large lion shot back, before walking back towards the bar's stairs.

* * *

Thunder rumbled ominously in the air, black clouds roiling above the broken skylines of Edge and Midgar. Safely burrowed under nearly a dozen thin blankets and one large comforter, Mira looked out the window to where raindrops were just barely beginning to spatter. She held up her left arm, the one with the Four Slots loose around her wrist, and peered through the clear Blank Materia that she had received from Aerith. Lightning flashed, a dozen forks criss-crossing to impact the large girders sticking up at random intervals around the city. The light that filtered though the Materia was lightly tinted pink, the hue rosy and loving. 

"What're you gonna-" The girl trailed off, yawning and tucking her hand back under her blankets. "What're you gonna be?" She asked quietly, yawning a second time before closing her eyes. On the outside of the window rain began to fall harder, lightning flashing and the wind whistling in a natural lullaby. In the blink of an eye a blue flash crossed the view of anyone looking out, too fast to be particularly human and too high from the ground to be anything other than a monster.

Quietly, the door to Marlene and Mira's shared room opened. A sliver of light from the night light in the hallway fell across their faces, illuminating them both as they slept. Yuffie smiled as she spied the tiara she had given the eight-year-old in a place of honor next to the thoroughly-beaten pieces of baseball on the shelf next to her bed. She re-closed the door, smirking to herself at her ability to evade the ears of the Second Class child inside. The Ninja turned, intent on going back to her own room, and ran into a solid body swathed in metal, cloth and leather.

"You never should'a been a Turk." She whispered, immobile against Vincent's chest. The tall gunslinger wrapped both his arms around her smaller torso, effectively holding her to him in a protective embrace.

"And why is this?" He asked into her hair, her head tucked into the crook of his neck and padded by his cloak. The ex-Turk figured he already knew the answer, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"You're freakishly quiet, even in those stupid metal shoes." Her muffled voice came, and Vincent could almost feel her smile through his cloak. "You should'a defected to Wutai and you should'a became a Ninja."

"I'm content with the skills I have now." The gunslinger whispered, his voice muffled by his cloak. "After all, I doubt a Ninja knows how to use a Gatling Gun mounted onto the back of a moving vehicle." This time he could nearly feel her frown, and he knew that he had won.

"If you grope me, buster, I'll have to grope you back." His hands moved a bit higher up her back from where they hand been slowly becoming lax.

"I'm not doing anything." He insisted, a small smile coming to his features as the two were completely content to simply stand there in each other's arms. A door opened at the end of the hallway after a while, a sleepy Denzel making his way out across the hall to the bathroom. After a few moments he came back out with a glass of water, and finally turned to them and made a face.

"Eugh." The kid muttered, blearily pulling hair from his face and taking a drink. "Old people love." Yuffie whirled around, trying to draw a small shuriken from the pouch on her pants and utterly failing because of the two arms still wrapped around her.

"You'll take that back, you little snot! If he lets me go, Cloud'n'Teef'll never find your body!" The Ninja yelled, shaking her fist as well as she could with Vincent's arms around her chest. She struggled against him to get at the kid down the hall, who absentmindedly scratched at his forehead and took another drink.

"Whatever." The half-asleep kid muttered, retreating back into his room.

* * *

_Oh gods, everything seems rushed and rather nasty. Gods I hate this story so far... Man, this is going to be absolutely terrible, I just know it. Sequels always suck..._


	3. Sugar High

**Remnant of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer:**_I've outlined this way too many times already for it to be healthy. Don't own it. All I own is a giant throwing star named 'Bronze Demon'. Ooh, hey, another Hojo excerpt in this chapter. These are always so much fun, because I get to let out my inner mad scientist! ... Even if my inner mad scientist is an evil squeaky bastard. Stupid chapters are getting so much shorter now, and I really kind of hate it because it's getting very annoying to upload and then only see that my chapter has a word count of only 1900 and a half. _

**_Due to troubles with my grades and upcoming finals, my computer has been taken. I'll do what I can with what I have, but there's no guarantee that I'll have a chapter next week._**

_Chapter 3_

* * *

_The personal Journal of Dr. Hojo of ShinRa,_

_May 13th, Era 0008 010._

_It appears that the entirety of the female specimen lab is not completely incompetent. Due do some sort of ill-reported mistake in genetic dosage, the perpetrator of which has been removed from ShinRa service _permanently_, an entire set of specimen embryos was contaminated. However, this mistake proved fruitful in that three of the specimens did not develop complications after their first exposure to the Mako tanks. These specimens, FX, FXI and FXII, however, are not without their defects. Each is, of course, a nearly full-blooded Ancient, and each has brain activity nearly surpassing that of the male specimens. However, they are stubborn in that they refuse to comply with any of our tests while they are awake._

_As stated before, each has genetic difficulties that must be overcome. While each of the other clones can somehow absorb Materia through their skin and equip it to their bodies without the need of weapons, FX cannot. Ironically enough, FX is also the most aggressive when forced to spar with either the other female specimens or any of the male specimens. Her 'sister', FXI, reached an accelerated age of ten in only a few weeks, and then completely stopped growing. However, her analytical skills are unparalleled, matching and even surpassing my own, Reeve's, Rufus' and Tseng's combined._

_Oddly, FXII had an adverse effect to long-term exposure to Mako. At one point the specimen's skin began to burn away. The incompetent scientists on shift at the time were too stupid to call upon myself for help, so by the time I arrived she had been removed from the Mako and most of her face was heavily scarred across. The sudden action of being taken from the Mako tank without proper draining and conditioning led to shock, and in the process she managed to loose a limb. It was replaced by a metal prosthetic, of course, and was quickly fashioned into a weapon._

_Though they are specimens, and hard-headed ones at that, they are still being coddled as children by my incompetent staff. Do they not understand that treatment such as this will result in them turning soft? I am not trying to raise schoolchildren from scratch, I am attempting to create something with which I can continue my research into the Cetra! By whatever means necessary I shall make them realize this._

* * *

"You'll have to leave without her knowing, you know." It was early that Vincent had received a text from Reeve, asking him to come to Kalm. The Ninja peered over his shoulder, blankets falling to her waist and exposing a flannel nightgown printed with little white cats saying cute things in Wutainese. 

"Yes." He neither wanted to move nor wanted to run away, but it was his only option in the current situation.

"And she'll be heartbroken that you left without saying goodbye." It was almost as though Yuffie was trying to drive the stake deeper, as though she was guilt tripping him for all the times that he himself would leave and be unaccounted for for long periods of time.

"I know." He nodded, flipping his phone shut and glaring at the cover as though it was the source of all his problems. In a way it almost was, but he could live with it until he found a way to get out of the mess he was in.

"Then say goodbye, and don't take 'no' for an answer." The Ninja gave him room as he rolled over onto his back, now glaring at the ceiling with his hair pooling out around his head. "I know you can."

"Not to her, I can't." He tried hard to ignore the fingers brushing across his chest as Yuffie pulled him into a hug. "If she asks to go with me, I'll end up letting her."

"You give the man a solution, and he makes it go full-circle back to the problem." The Kunoichi muttered, pulling her arms from his torso and using them to pull her pillow up over her head with a 'hmph'. "Ah gi'hah." Came her muffled voice, and Vincent raised an eyebrow at her.

"Since when do you give up?" He asked, and was awarded with a rude gesture in his general direction. "That's hardly becoming of you." Yuffie used both hands to pull the pillow from her face, looking rather cross.

"Shut up." She said, glaring levelly at the man next to her. "Your feeble attempts at topic-changing are only coming across as bad innuendo."

"It's true, though. You don't give up." His eyes crinkled lightly at the edges, his mouth slowly curling up into what could be called the barest minimum of a smile.

"Well then, stop being so Leviathan-damned frustrating! You're going to make me pull out either my hair or yours, and I'm not too sure who's going first. Just tell Mira that she can't go with you! She's got school on Monday anyway, so I have to take her all the way back to Nibelheim." Yuffie sat up on the bed, pointing an accusatory finger at Vincent's bare chest. "And if you tell her _maybe next time_, I'll... I'll..." She paused for a moment, trying to think up a good threat. The Ninja's outburst wasn't without prompting, though. Several months before, Mira had begged to tag along on a WRO mission to the Midgar Swamp. Knowing the danger, Vincent told her '_Maybe next time_'. The 'next time' turned out to be a mission that air-dropped them onto an uncharted and forested island just east of Northern Continent that was infested with Cactuars. Finally, Yuffie came to a decision.

"You tell her 'no'," she began, poking Vincent in the chest with every other word. "Or when you get back to Nibelheim you're sleeping in the main hall with the evil floating pumpkins."

* * *

By the time anyone really moved to get out of bed that day, it was noon. However, it was to the sound of Saturday morning cartoons that Tifa came downstairs to the kitchen. The counter space was, of course, a wreck, milk splashed in small puddles and little chunks of chocolate-y cereal littering the floor. Drowsily following the rapidly dwindling trail to its source, the martial artist found exactly what she expected. Marlene, Denzel and Mira all sat around the TV with large bowls of Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs, rapt at attention to the screen like only a child hyped up on sugar could be. Mira even had her spoon dangling from her mouth still, the sleeves on her nightdress just barely long enough to reach her fingers but the rest of the dress much too long on her. 

"I swear he looks just like your dad." Denzel said in the nearly-stoned way that only a kid with too much sugar could, taking a bite of cereal. Mira jumped, and began eating again. She shook her head, chewing thoughtfully.

"Nope!" She smiled wiredly, as though she had already had several bowls of the sugary cereal. "Daddy's got fluffier..." She paused for a moment, putting her spoon down and pulling at the spikes on the back of her head as if to make a point.

"... Maybe." The older boy paused his eating again, peering at the TV as a shout and a crash came from it. "You think that blond whatsername-lady is based on Tifa?"

Tifa raised an eyebrow at this, leaning heavily on the door frame to the living room. For kids high on sugar, the three of them were being quiet. Marlene especially. Cloud would have to take them all to the park to get them to get rid of some of that. He would probably have to put up with Mira's self-taught and rather poor excuse for martial arts in the process, but he was the strongest out of all of them and most likely to survive a flying kick from a little girl that had just dropped from a tree onto his shoulders.

"Nuh-uh. No-way." Well that couldn't be good... Marlene was finally speaking, which proved that sugar didn't render her mute, but she was talking much too fast. "Tsunade's-not-fast-enough." Denzel had ignored the younger girl, and continued on speaking in a mellow voice. It was like he hadn't been affected by the sugar running through his veins practically instead of blood.

"-and then we've got the blond idiot that looks like Cloud but acts too much like Yuffie for his own good, an' the guy that looks like your dad but acts like Mr. Valentine, an' the guy with the giant sword-"

"CONSPIRACY!" Well, if everyone in the house hadn't been up by then, they certainly were now. It was an obvious thing to say that Mira's system had adverse effects when processed sugar was entered into the mix, and she would become jumpy nearly to the point of Tourette's.

"Denzel..." Tifa finally said warningly, and three sets of eyes all snapped to her. "You know you're not supposed to give her sugary cereal before everyone else wakes up." Another yell and a crash came from the television, and the kid's eyes snapped right back to it. "Hey!" The martial artist said, snapping her fingers several times. "Listen to me when I'm talking to you!"

All three sets of eyes focused back on her, although Marlene looked as though she was trying to focus one eye on the TV set and the other on Tifa. Someone swore as they fell down the stairs, stumbling down the hall before bracing themselves against the wall. It was Yuffie, her hair disheveled and a shuriken in her hand.

"Someone screamed?" She asked drowsily, looking about the room. Mira's hand shot up at a whiplash-inducing speed, and she rocked so hard from her seat on the floor that the large bowl of cereal on her lap nearly spilled.

"I learned that word in school!" The eight-year-old said, and Yuffie shrugged to Tifa and went to sit down behind the three kids. The Ninja blinked a few times, her eyes focusing on the TV as she reached down behind Denzel and pulled out the half-eaten box of Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs. Tifa rolled her eyes and walked towards the kitchen to start cleaning up the mess that the kids would undoubtedly ignore until the milk stagnated or someone forced them to do it.

"Dude!" Yuffie finally yelled, breaking the sugar-high silence of the Saturday morning cartoon-watching crowd. "I remember this show from when I was a kid!" Onscreen a Ninja in orange and a kid in blue and white were attacking each other viciously. The Kunoichi blinked a few times, popping a few more hunks of sugary cereal in her mouth. "This show is a secret method my dad cooked up for me to pay attention to my history lessons. All this stuff really happened!" A few more hunks of cereal disappeared as the three kids on the floor stared at her.

"Seriously?" Marlene asked. Yuffie nodded, and Denzel scrabbled for the remote and quickly changed the channel.

* * *

_... Yes, Naruto is a Saturday Morning Cartoon now._ _And yes, it is the equivalent of something along the lines of either Thundercats or Voltron: Defenders of the Universe. Except it would have been on Wutai's equivalent of the History Channel._

_... And I need to start writing. NOW. Or else I have a feeling I'll be very _VERY _pressed for time come next Thursday._


	4. Jasonball

**Remnant Of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer: **_Man, I got so confused for a moment I wrote Penance in stead of Remnant Of Dreams for the title. Then I realized what I had done, went to correct it, and did it again. Anywho, thanks for the overwhelming support I've been getting on this! I personally don't think it really deserves it, and I mean it. But then again, I think most if not all of my fiction sucks. Oh well._

**_You guys have no clue as to how much fanangling I went through to get this to you on time. Even now, I'm not happy with it._**

_Chapter 4

* * *

_

Gray sunlight shone down on Edge and Midgar, making everything it lit monochromatic and washed out. Regardless, Mira still had sat on Cloud's shoulders and laughed as she brushed the bottoms of the lowest-hanging signs with the tips of her outstretched fingers. All four of them- Cloud, Marlene, Denzel and Mira -had been thrown out of Seventh Heaven as soon as Saturday morning cartoons were over. At first Mira had cried, clinging to the bolt of Kevlar cloth hanging over Cloud's left leg, but she was soon distracted. They had gone to the park only to find it closed, the gates to the small play area in the shadow of two buildings shut and locked. The sign was weather-worn and faded, as though it had been hung and then forgotten.

"Can I help you with something?" A woman leaned out of her third story window, peering down at the small group as she hung her washing on a line running over the old playground.

"How long has this park been closed?" Cloud asked, looking up at the woman with a questioning gaze. Beside him, Denzel pulled at the lock in vain as Mira looked up at the foreboding gate and its weathered sign.

"About... Three months, give or take. When they closed it, they said something about a leak in one of the Mako pipes on the outside on the building." The woman hung a pair of jeans on her washline, followed by a few shirts. "But then I took a look, and I couldn't see anything."

"Are we gonna have to go back to the bar?" Marlene pulled at one of Cloud's belts, her face put-down. Mira only managed to pick up on a single part of the conversation, and turned to the blond with baleful eyes.

"Please no! I don' wanna go back yet! Let's go to a different park!" She said, as Denzel still pulled at the lock. I wouldn't budge, and as the boy's hands came away they were covered in reddish dust.

"There's an open park three blocks down to the left and one block over to the right." The woman above them finished hanging out her washing, pulling her laundry basket off of her fire escape and closing her window without so much as a goodbye. With a sigh, Cloud picked up Marlene and Mira, setting them both on his shoulders and turning to the left of the closed park gate.

"What do you say?" The swordsman asked, and both girls nodded vigorously. Denzel wiped his hands on his pants a few times, trying to get the rust residue off of his fingers. Only a little bit came off, and it was with a sigh that the kid ran after Cloud, grabbed the bolt of cloth hanging from the blond's waist and wiped hands like with a dishtowel. The swordsman continued to walk, but raised an eyebrow at the boy's method of cleaning his hands.

"Den-zel!" Marlene whined, aiming a kick at the older boy's head. She missed by a mile, nearly kicking Cloud in the side. "Stoppit!" For good measure, she stuck her tongue out.

"I'm not a battleground. Stop fighting or I'm hauling you both back to the bar." Cloud ordered, and Marlene quickly stilled. Denzel moved a few feet away, walking along the curb with one foot directly in front of the other and his arms out at his sides.

"Yeah, Denzel... Go-" Mira tried to add a final word, holding tightly to Cloud's ear to keep herself from falling to the ground, but Marlene brought a finger to her mouth to shush her. The rest of the short walk was spent in relative silence, the only sound coming from Denzel as he occasionally slipped and nearly fell into the street.

* * *

The park, as large as it was, was completely full. Every bench had at least two people on it, every swing was occupied and every space in the jungle gym had a child hanging from it. A cracked and fenced Basketball court with painted hoops and chain link nets was home to a small group of kids with a fraying and dirty white and blue ball. With a groan, Cloud grabbed Marlene and Mira and pulled them from his shoulders. He sat them both on the ground, and rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand.

"I don't know how many more shoulder rides you two can get out of me." He said, wincing as he popped his neck. Both girls nodded, looking around in awe at the new surroundings. "Well, what're you waiting for? Go play."

The two were off like a shot in a heartbeat, Marlene running straight to the sandbox where she had spotted one of her friends. Mira was a bit more indecisive, walking around the park with sure steps. Her Four Slots clinked at her wrist, shining in the gray light. It was eventually that she found herself clutching at the chain link fence surrounding the Basketball court, watching Denzel play in an unfairly-matched scrimmage with the wrong kind of ball.

"Hey, look! It's the SOLDIER brat!" The cry came from a boy with long hair, the end of one lock tinted blue from a forgotten attempt to dye it. Heads around the court turned, and Mira shrunk down as she realized just who it was that was playing with the beaten-up old Blitzball. She recognized many of the faces, and really didn't want to get involved.

"Hey, Mira! C'mon!" A girl named Ellen, her short white-blond hair swept into a ducktail, waved to the eight-year-old cheerfully. "We need a new person!" Mira shook her head mutely, sitting on the ground and clutching at her Four Slots like a lifeline. Normally, she would have agreed and jumped right in, but despite how much she had grown both physically and mentally she was still afraid of the Blitzball's owner.

"Just play." The girl's head whipped around, large blue eyes blinking in surprise at the girl leaning against the wall. "Even though you're a total freak, you're better than all of them." A dirty Moogle hung from the girl's hoodie pulls, its stuffing nearly missing and the stitching of one of its eyes coming undone.

"But I thought you-"

"Hated you?" The girl pushed herself from the wall, pulling her Moogle from her hoodie strings and holding it under one arm. "Jason told me something like your dad really _was _in SOLDIER. It's not much, but you're not really one of those Remnant guys then, either."

It was true. Several months previous, Mira had used her Summon the Dead Materia to prove, once and for all, that she was not one of Sephiroth's Remnants. Although it had sated her bullies, not everyone believed her. Some just thought she was a kid with a lump of Summon Materia, and to be quite fair she was just fine with that.

"Mira, come on!" Ellen grabbed the Blitzball and chucked it at the chain link fence, rattling the whole structure to the point that it waved back and forth. The eight-year-old in question turned and stuck her tongue out, pulling down one of her lower eyelids.

"Seriously, do you need my permission to play with them or something?" The girl asked, moving to lean against the chain link fence. Rust rubbed off onto her clothes and into her hair, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Why were you so mean to me?" Mira stood in silence for a while, finally looking up at the older girl with questioning eyes.

"I was ten and stupid." Came the reply, and Mira nodded in assent and ran through the gate to the Basketball court. She picked up the Blitzball in one hand, throwing it to Jason. The older boy caught it, wiping his blue-tipped lock of hair out of his eyes and stowing the ball under one arm.

"We gotta play something else now, teams are uneven." One of the kids in the pack said, his bright red hair held back with a big black bandanna that looked as though it had once been part of a tablecloth.

"How about Jasonball?" A girl asked, sweeping brown hair from her eyes in what seemed to be the fourth time in as many minutes. Jason sent the girl a _look_, his glare filled with malice.

"How are you supposed to play that?" Denzel asked, making a grab for the Blitzball as he made his way towards Mira's side of the court. The older boy pulled it out of his way, holding it above his head.

"Easy," he said, shaking hair from his face much like many of the girls in his group. "You can never play the same way twice!"

* * *

"Denzel! Mira! It's almost time to go!" Marlene hung dutifully from Cloud's hair, sitting atop his shoulders in the middle of the park. Hours had passed, the sky going from a light gray that tinted everything its same shade to a dark and foreboding gray that made every shadow deeper and everything it tinted look evil and jagged.

"Denzel!" Marlene echoed, twisting around to look for the boy. A sudden crash came from the direction of the basketball court, as well as a yell from one of the boys playing with a ratty old Blitzball. Cloud began walking in that direction, only to stop as a girl walked out of the enclosure with a plastic trashcan full of water dragging behind her. She stopped, looking up at the blond with reddish-brown eyes framed by white-blond hair.

"Here is a bucket, filled with water ice-cold." She began, frantically pointing in the other direction as she tried to get the swordsman to leave. "For you to dump, just where you are told. Bucket..." She paused her pantomiming for a second, looking thoughtful before turning and shouting. "Hey, Renny! What's a word that rhymes with 'told' and ends up with 'point'?"

"Just dump the water on her head!" A boy with bright red hair tied back with a black band yelled, while spinning in circles.

"That's a silent zone! Your team lost a famborgle!" A small girl yelled, her spiky black hair tied into one big ponytail with a long piece of packing twine.

"Yeah, well... That's an opposite spot! _Your _team lost a famborgle to the smoo power!" A particularly tall girl called from the first level of a fire escape. Her arms were held out in the shape of a hoop, as were those of a girl on the other side of the court. The actual Basketball hoops were being guarded by the smallest boys on each of the 'teams', and several kids were trying to throw balled-up newspaper through the hoops.

"Mira, Denzel!" Cloud yelled, stepping around Ellen and her trashcan full of water and entering the fenced-off court. "It's time to go home!"

All at once, the game stopped. One of the boys throwing newspaper sighed and handed his last wadded-up issue of last month's funnies to a kid next to him with long green cornrows and made his way to the swordsman. The girl with packing twine in her hair pulled off a mask made of a piece of black plastic trash bag and followed him, waving sadly to several of the girls on her team.

"Bye, guys!" She called, taking one of Cloud's hands in one of hers and waving with the other. "Next time I'm here I'll play again!" Ellen sullenly walked by with an upended trashcan on her head, waving in a soggy manner as she squelched into the court.

"Bargablag!" She yelled, throwing her arms above her head. The game resumed, two of its players missing.

* * *

"What were you guys playing?" Cloud asked as the group rounded the last corner before Seventh Heaven's front entrance. Denzel walked along the curb, his arms out at his sides for balance. Mira walked behind him, her arms down and only springing up when she nearly put her foot in a storm drain.

"Jasonball. You can never play the same way twice, and there's a set of rules nobody remembers except when they apply to the other team." Mira answered, jumping down into the gutter and then back up to the sidewalk. With deft fingers, Marlene braided several of Cloud's larger spikes into long plaits from where she still sat on his shoulders.

Denzel was the first to spot the WRO truck outside of the Seventh Heaven, running forward and into the building with a smile on his face. The WRO meant that there were probably soldiers inside, and that meant that he might be able to do things he wouldn't otherwise be able to do. Mira looked up with a frown, one eyebrow slowly raising before she ran to the half-closed back of the truck. She was halfway there before several operatives came out of the bar, swinging up into the truck. One of them opened the opposite door, shutting the first one in the process. The eight-year-old let out a cry of surprise, stopping as she saw a flash of red inside.

"Mira, wait!" Cloud yelled, but the door was already slammed shut, nearly on her fingers, with an apologetic-looking Vincent Valentine inside. In a cloud of exhaust, the WRO truck drove away. Mira sat down on the cracked and dirty cement, her hands in her lap.

"Vincent..." She muttered, wiping at her eyes with the back of one hand. Cloud set Marlene down and knelt down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"He's coming back." The swordsman wasn't good at consolations, and it showed rather terribly.

"He didn't say _goodbye_." Mira hissed, glaring at the blond with all of the fury she could muster. Her glowing blue eyes flashed dangerously, betraying rage and hurt. "And I don't care if he comes back anymore." She crossed her arms in a huff, drawing her knees to her chest.

"You can't mean that, right?" Yuffie looked out of the open front door of the bar, worry on her features. She ran to the eight-year-old, crouching down in front of her.

"Yes I _do_." Mira grumbled, not looking up at the Ninja in front of her. The Kunoichi shrugged at Cloud, and the swordsman got up from the ground and started inside.

"... You want hot cocoa and a stuffie?" Mira tried hard not to smile, turning it into a scowl.

"Fine." She muttered, getting up off of the ground. Hand-in-hand, the two girls walked back inside.

* * *

**This all feels rushed and stupid. I hateithateithateit. I've been writing this in the computer lab at SCHOOL, for crying out loud!**

**Aaaah, plot. You smell lightly of banannas. And kind of like oranges. And bacon, eggs, toast and hashbrowns. **

**... And Mako.**


	5. Childish Anger

**Remnant Of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer:**_Don't make me drag my little brother's Tres Iquis-cosplaying ass in here to hose you all down in a spray of bullets and four-letter words he shouldn't know! I don't own it, and you guys should all know that by now._

**I'm probably SO behind the times right now, but my brain is finally melting because I saw the foreshadowing of the FFVII remake after the credits of the last scene in Crisis Core. O.O; I'm going to go beat my head on a wall now. But who cares? Cloud's hair sticks up like it should instead of the half-assed spikes he has in Advent Children! -Drools- Death Gigas and Hellmasker remastered...**

_Chapter 5_

* * *

_The personal Journal of Dr. Hojo of ShinRa,_

_June 2nd, Era 008 010._

_It is an unfortunate travesty that has led to this. During a containment breach of some sort, FXI managed to escape. She obtained her weapons from the armory, a pair of Wutainese Long Dao broadswords that have yet to be recovered, and used the specimen elevator to make her escape. She managed to get outside of the ShinRa building and onto the last train headed for the Sector Three Slums, where she holed herself up in an extremely defensible piece of condemned property. _

_I voiced my dismay to that utter oaf Heidegger, and he sent three of his best operatives after her. Unfortunately this resulted in an explosion that nearly decimated three blocks of housing complexes in the Slums, taking with it my most valuable and unspoilt specimen. _

_If my constant loss of usable specimens continues, I will be forced to rid myself of the female clone lab completely._

* * *

"No good stupid..." Mira paused her tirade as she accepted a mug full of hot chocolate, taking a hearty gulp of the scalding liquid before continuing. "Dirty rotten raggum-fragga-shmagga-maggen..." She trailed off into a growl, clutching the dirty stuffed brown bear tucked into the crook of her arm tighter. 

"He had to go, you know." Yuffie tried to console the little girl, but she would hear nothing of it. She angrily gulped down her drink, setting the empty and still scalding mug down on the bar.

"I don't care." The eight-year-old said, clutching the bear to her chest and nibbling a bit on its ear. "He didn't say goodbye."

"Cloud doesn't say goodbye when _he _leaves, either. But he still comes back." Tifa said, shooting a look at the blond who was carefully putting his massive First Tsurugi sword back together. He looked up, blue eyes wide in an 'I heard my name and I swear, whatever I did, it's either not my fault or I'm sorry' look.

"But this is Vincent we're talking about here." Yuffie said, faking seriousness. "It's a whole different thing."

"Shut up." Mira glared, her voice low and grim. Both women rounded on the young girl, appalled looks on their faces.

"You need to go to your room and pack, kiddo." Yuffie said, grabbing the girl by the arm and hauling her off of her stool. "Then you can stay there for the rest of the day." The eight-year-old stuck out her tongue and then stormed off up the stairs, throwing her bear onto the floor and then slamming her door behind her. It sounded as though wood splintered, but no apology was issued if it had.

"Do you think she'll stay mad for long?" Tifa asked, going back to washing glasses. Yuffie shook her head, a slight smile on her face.

"Nah. I'm head of freakin' Intel-gathering, she'll see him sooner than she thinks." She said, putting both hands behind her head and nearly leaning back before she realized that she was sitting on a bar stool. "'Sides, it's not like he'll be gone long. Reeve only wants him to go to Kalm."

"You know Vincent, though." The martial artist said, sighing as she picked up another glass and ran it under water.

"Yeah, and I know him well enough that he'll be beating himself up over leaving without saying goodbye. As soon as this mess is over he'll be right back in Nibelheim with us and spoiling her rotten." Yuffie grinned, getting up and heading for the stairs.

"Packing?" Nanaki looked up from under the table nearest the radiator, one eye gleaming in the shadows. The Kunoichi nodded, quickly running up the stairs. With a slight nod, the lion laid his head back on his paws and closed his eye again.

* * *

"Hey, SOLDIER-Squirt! How's my next great recruit doing?" The man driving the WRO transport was tall, a red cap holding down an afro of curly black hair. He ruffled Mira's own black spikes, making them stand up at even odder angles than they had before. It wasn't often that the girl got to ride in one of the Organization's vans, but when she did she would always pick the one being driven by Major Carl Marx. 

"My name's Mira, not SOLDIER-Squirt." She corrected, smiling as she climbed into the back of the van with Yuffie and a few other WRO operatives.

"Right, right. Hey, Princess?" Major Marx asked, leaning into the back of the vehicle and looking for Yuffie. She aimed a kick at his shoulder, but her moved and dodged.

"Stop calling me that, you stupid flirt." The Kunoichi ordered, getting nothing more than a wide grin and a mock salute in return.

"Yeah, yeah, you love me. But seriously? Why'd ya not take Cap'n Highwind's airship?" The Major was only wasting time as he waited for his gate clearance, but his incessant asking was getting a bit on the nerves of everyone in the van.

"Ayyyy, Marx! Either flirt when we're on the freeway or shut up and drive!" A woman with long red hair that was only a shade darker than her cap said, fanning herself with one of her black armbands. She crossed her legs and scooted over, making enough room to squeeze Mira onto the seating bench between herself and another female officer.

_Major Carl Marx, you may now exit through Corel gate number Twenty-Three._ The walkie-talkie at Major Marx's shoulder buzzed, the woman on the other line sounding vaguely automated. He sighed, rolling his eyes and flapping his hand like a mouth before closing the doors to the back of the van and then heading to the cab. Mira turned to the woman beside her, who was still fanning herself with her armband.

"It's not real hot, is it?" She asked, and the woman shrugged and fanned harder.

"All these uniform pieces make it a bit too hot." The woman on Mira's other side laughed, pulling off her red hat and whacking the redhead with it. Under the cap was a red buzz cut, but it was the same shade as the other woman's long red hair.

"C'mon, Janiss, you've got a bathing suit and a Kevlar vest on! If you wanna complain about something, complain about how the stinkin' WRO gives the men pants and us nothing!" She griped, but began to fan herself as well. A few of the guys in the van made a show of laughing and then looking at the exposed legs of the women riding with them, but it was all in good fun.

_Hey, Princess. _Marx's voice came over the intercom on the console inside the van, crackling as she leaned into his walkie-talkie on his shoulder. _You never answered me before._

"Hey Marx, if you don't shut up I'll get you demoted to Private. I helped your boss save the world." Yuffie taunted, putting her hands behind her head and leaning back onto the wall of the transport.

_Whatever, Princess. You love me too much to do that. Next stop is Nibelheim in like, four hours, so get your card games out and sit tight. _The Major's smile could almost be heard through his words, and surprisingly enough a few of the operatives in the transport scooted closer together to form a leg table and one brought out a deck of cards. Mira pulled a small white game system, a PlayTendo PDS, from her backpack of dirty clothes and treasures. With a smile and a nod she was soon flipping it open and turning it on.

"Who wants to play Poker?" One of the male operatives asked, and the hands were delt.

* * *

_... Yeah. I wrote this yesterday when I looked up from watching ToriBura and writing Forever Smiles and realized it was Wednesday and my deadline for this was today. So it's short. So what? _

_Signing out to go fix my iPod! _


	6. Bacon Chocolate

**Remnant of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer:**_My computer's broken. Live with it. You're also going to have to live with the fact that I just can't seem to write on this much. You may have to survive with a Hiatus until Sakuracon is over and done with. I'onno._

_Chapter 6_

* * *

To him, the town seemed quiet. Almost as though a predominant hush had fallen over the people, or as though they were scared of the silence and only provided more fodder for its voiceless noise. Still, it was almost like the calm before the proverbial storm. A festival of amazing proportions was in several days, and it promised to be a wonderful occasion.

"Your things, sir?" Vincent nodded mutely, reaching up and taking his bag of belongings from the WRO operative in the truck. As the doors slammed shut, a cold and foreboding wind blew through the town of Kalm.

As soon as he got to the Inn, he would rest. Then tomorrow, weather and PHS batteries permitting, he would call Yuffie and Mira. He just hoped the latter wasn't very angry with him.

* * *

The clouds were a dark and stormy gray, the threat of rain on the horizon. Somewhere in the distance a Dragon roared, the sound echoing across the valley Nibelheim was situated in. Mira sat on a broken chunk of masonry and stared out across the town, her feet just barely skimming the weeds as she kicked them back and forth. Behind her Yuffie was flipping through a ring of keys for what seemed to be the third time.

"I told him to make the stupid locksmiths cast it in some random color besides freakin' _gold_, but did he listen? Noooo! Now we can't get in the freakin' front door and it's about to rain!" The Kunoichi ranted, throwing the keys to the ground before muttering and picking them up. Mira took a large bite of chocolate, making a noise of approval as she watched the approaching clouds.

"Roar." She said levelly after she swallowed her mouthful of chocolate, echoing the Dragon somewhere in the mountains.

"Hey, Mira?" Yuffie asked, finally giving up her search and stowing her keys away in the pouch on her belt. "You wanna come here and bust the door open?"

"Vincent said we should only do that if you can't find the key." The eight-year-old said, sticking her bar of chocolate in her mouth for safekeeping and jumping down to the ground. She ripped away a large chunk of the sweet before handing the bar to Yuffie and chewing thoughtfully. The Ninja took a small bite, immediately spitting it out.

"Augh, grossness! What does this have in it?" She asked, and Mira swallowed her mouthful before striking a sloppy martial arts pose. The Kunoichi next to her was sorely tempted to correct her stance, but only figured it would do no good.

"Bacon, why?" She asked, before jumping forward and hitting the lock with an open palm. The door splintered open, one hinge falling loose and making it tilt slightly. A few small monsters scurried and floated into the shadows under the stairs, a draft blowing through the room and making the weeds that had grown up through the floor shift from side to side.

"Oh, come _on_!" Yuffie yelled, picking up her bag and throwing it inside. It hit the ground and rolled, flattening a few weeds along the way. "Every time we leave these things come back!"

"Every time we go to bed they come back." Mira corrected, taking her bar of bacon chocolate back from the Ninja as she passed her.

"But still! I'm a Ninja, not a gardener!" The woman protested, throwing her hands down at her sides. All she heard as an answer was gentle laughter and the chattering of the monsters under the stairs, and with a mighty sigh she bent and began wrenching the weeds from the cracks in the floor.

* * *

The sky was still dark, rain coming down in sheets that made the roof groan and the gutters creak, when the phone rang. Yuffie rolled over groggily in her sleep, unsure as to where the blasted noise was coming from. Finally, a single hand separated itself from its haven of blankets and comforters, groping blindly on the antique bedside table. The PHS' ringing stopped for a moment, then began again. The Ninja muttered a curse and the hand withdrew before all the blankets were thrown to her waist and she grabbed the offending piece of technology in a tight fist.

"Whoever you are, you'd better have a damned-good reason for disturbing the sleep of the world's greatest freakin' Ninja!" She practically yelled into the phone, pulling the covers back up over her face as she realized just how cold it was in the manor.

_I'll call back later. _Came the reply, and Yuffie smiled a little before she spoke.

"Nah, Vinnie, it's okay." She said, curling up under the covers with the PHS clutched to her ear like a lovesick teenage girl. The slight silence between them was heavy, yet laced with smiles and soft feelings.

_... Is she angry? _He finally asked, sounding as apologetic as anyone could. His tone of voice belied that he truly was sorry, and that if he could help it he would never do it again. The Kunoichi's smile was a bit of a sad one, but she nodded all the same before she realized that he couldn't see her.

"Definitely. Breaking doors and refusing Major Marx's nicknames kind of mad." She sighed, curling tighter and fisting one hand into the dark blankets around her.

_Will you tell her that I'm sorry, if she'll listen? _Vincent asked, a tone to his voice that was almost pleading for a moment. A new silence hung between the two of them, but only for a moment as something in the house creaked.

"Yeah, but she probably won't." Yuffie said, drawing the blankets in closer as she held onto the phone like a lifeline. "When're you coming back?"

_As soon as I meet with Reeve. He'll be here by tomorrow. Something about a festival. _The Ninja laughed at this, but soon quieted and returned to kneading the blankets around her. She yawned loudly, blinking a few times and fighting the urge to close her eyes and sleep.

"I miss you." She whined, grinning from ear to ear when she could have sworn she heard the slightest bit of a chuckle on the other end of the connection.

_I'll be back in a few days. Don't let Mira break anything. _She could hear the smile in his voice, and it made her smile even wider._Goodnight._

"I-" She paused, yawning widely. "I love you." The pause between them this time was full of happiness, the lovesick teenage kind that drove up phone bills even though the lovers lived on the same block.

_I love you too. _He said, just in time for the line to go out in time with a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder.

* * *

**Preparation for SakuraCon is eating my SOOOOOOUL. That's why the chapters have been so short and corny. Oh, and happy Single's Awareness Day, for those of you that care. Give me bacon chocolate and nobody gets hurt.**

**Baaaaacoooon.**

**I swear, as soon as all this is over I'll be back. **


	7. Found You

**Remnant Of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer:**_Sakuracon! Soul! My! Eating! Is! Yaaaaaay DoC plot!_

_Chapter 7_

* * *

_The personal Journal of Dr. Hojo of ShinRa,_

_July 13th, Era 008 010._

_They've taken her! The last of my undamaged female specimens, and they've taken her! As soon as all of this bureaucratic red tape between departments is cleared up, I am taking my complaints directly to whoever is in charge of this so-called 'Deepground' and demanding that FX be returned to my care. If that fails to accomplish whatever tricks are necessary, I will appeal to the President himself. My research will _not _be hindered, no matter what happens to my prise research specimens._

_However, a new matter is slowly coming to light. My Reunion theory, if to be proved true, will facilitate the releasing of all of my successful clones of Sephiroth. FXII has already been released into the Nibel Mountains, as I no longer have a use for a so severely damaged specimen. If I can gain the proper favor, I will also release-_

A beep sounded in the empty room, blue light making every shadow inky and unwelcoming. The only deviation from the color was the orange hair of the girl sitting on the console, a massive helmet on her head. The series of documents called up on the screen in her mind closed with a barely-audible blip, a new screen taking its place. Much like everything else, the main components of the screen were blue, save for the singular red and black mass in the center. Off to the side, a screen of statistics scrolled down at a leisurely pace, the man grasping the balcony railing in front of him and taking in the sight of the carnage and mayhem destroying Kalm below him.

"Vincent Valentine." She began, her head tilting to one side in a vain attempt to see more of the man's face. "Found you."

* * *

"Why does it always have to rain?" It was Recess, but the bottom of the slide was a swimming pool, the Foursquare court was a lake and the sandbox was three-foot-deep Quicksand. Mira sat with her chin on her crossed arms, staring out the window at the raging storm outside. Her Four Slots made scraping noises against the classroom's wooden floor, her Blank Materia casting pink-tinted rainbows every which way every time lightning flashed. 

"Because the Mideel Packers lost the Super Bowl." Kelsey Fishork laid next to her, albeit on her back and with a bag full of cheese-dusted green fish crackers sitting on her stomach.

"That's not the reason! It doesn't rain because because your Blitzball team lost!" Kelsey shoved a handful of green crackers into her mouth, nodding with her cheeks puffed up like a Chipmunk's.

"The only other exaplashun is that you're really Wutai's Leviathan come down to drown us all, since it only rains like this when you're here." Mira turned her attention to her friend, raising an eyebrow in skepticism.

"I'll believe the first one, then." She said, before turning back to looking out the window in time to see as small flash of blue streak across the flooded playground.

"Nobody ever believes the second one." The rather odd girl with the fish crackers muttered, shoveling another handful into her mouth. Her dark brown hair was puled into two pigtails, barrettes inset with two small Ice Two Materia crystals holding back extremely long bangs. She wore a sundress completely inappropriate to the season and climate, large fish with even larger teeth chasing cats around and around on a red background. Her stockings were thick and blue, her shoes a pair of sandals that currently sat by the door. An Ice Bangle was fastened around her upper arm, most of the slots empty except for the one occupied by a low-level Shiva.

"Is there something out there?" Mira asked, slowly getting to her feet and leaning closer to the glass. Kelsey rolled over, the bag of fish crackers falling to the floor with a crunch as she stood up and looked as well. There was nothing but the rain outside, lightning connecting to the rod on top of the school building for what seemed like the third time in twenty minutes.

"I don't think so." She said, turning to her spiky-haired friend and shrugging. Mira shook her head and refused to look out the window, watching intently for anything to happen. Another blue flash appeared on the roof near the lightning rod, too quick for the normal eye to follow before it disappeared again.

"There it is again!" She cried, pointing to where she had seen it. Kelsey shook her head, sighing.

"Mrs. Buxley!" She called, and the girls' aging teacher turned towards them with a smile.

"Yes, girls?" She asked, taking her pencil and sliding it into her bun as she stood. Mira pressed herself closer to the window, trying to see more of what she thought was out there. "Is anything wrong?"

"Mira said she saw something glowing blue out there!" Adopting a stern face, Mrs. Buxley reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out an armlet filled with linked Materia. Many of the children, seeing their normally carefree teacher looking so focused, quickly quieted and put down their things.

"Was it a monster?" The woman asked, sliding the armlet onto her right wrist and going quickly to the locked cabinet she kept the art supplies in. In a few seconds she had the door open, reaching inside to pull out an old sword inset with even more Materia.

"I think so." Mira replied, watching as another appeared and simply would not go away. More came into view, and she clutched her Four Slots to her chest nervously. The teacher laid a hand on her shoulder, pulling both girls away from the window slowly. Lightning flashed outside, illuminating dark shapes with glowing blue lines lacing across them in the playground.

Everyone screamed as the power went out, the backup generator refusing to kick in for some reason or another. Mrs. Buxley herded all of the children to the corner of the room, the boys laughing and treating it as a joke and many of the girls beginning to cry in fear. The few with Materia held onto it nervously, looking around the darkened classroom with wide eyes. Lightning flashed again, illuminating a shape outside the window where Mira had been peering out. Along the whole wall of bay windows framed by shelves, many shapes were becoming visible. Suddenly, bright blue lines fired into existence on all of them, illuminating helmets and armor on some and the distorted faces of what were once monsters on others. With a mighty crash, all of the windows were shattered inward as monsters and humans jumped through or fired a spray of bullets through.

"Man's Folly!" The teacher called out, the gold-laced blackish-gray Summon with the ghostly image of a box inside flaring into life at her wrist as she leveled her weapon. All of the children screamed, clutching at each other in a vain attempt for safety.

"Diamond Dust!" Kelsey was the first of the students with Materia to react, using her low-level Shiva Summon on the nearest few human attackers. As the Goddess of ice materialized, a gaping black hole appeared in the floor in front of two of the monsters that had jumped through the windows. From it floated a woman in a black robe, golden chains tying her to the darkness she floated above. In her hands was a golden box, and with her pale thumbs she opened it. The monsters jumped at the Pandora Summon, knives springing forward over their hands so as to rip it to shreds, but out of the box came a multitude of flying black tendrils that grasped the attackers and ripped them to shreds before pulling the pieces into the box.

Black blood flew everywhere, a little spraying across the students. A warm spray splattered across Mira's face, and she screamed and sat stock-still. Still, more of the black-clad assailants began coming through the broken windows. One, the uniform more elaborate, raised his hand. The soldiers all stood ready, training weapons on the group in the corner.

"We're only here for the girl." The man's tone was harsh and commanding, his weapon trained on the teacher. Mrs. Buxley sneered, something uncharacteristic of the normally mild-mannered older woman, and quickly removed a piece of light purple Materia from her sword and replaced it with a light blue one from her armlet. The purple one was put in the blue's place, linking with an All Materia.

"Shield!" She called out, a hexagonal shield appearing around herself and all the students in in the corner just as the soldiers all opened fire. Bullets ricocheted from the shield at a massive pace, finally quieting down when several of the assailants themselves were cut down in sprays of blood. "If there was one thing I used to teach my students before I retired," she began, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at the apparently nervous commanding officer, "it was that you should never negotiate with terrorists."

"We only want the girl. Your time will come soon enough." He assured, walking forward nearly to the dome.

"That would be a problem. Half of my class is made up of girls, and as their teacher I can't let you have any of them." Mrs. Buxley said, her tone clipped and sharp. The woman's hand strayed slightly towards Mira's head, however, protection against the people she knew would try once again to break through the barrier.

"You know which girl we want. Now, give us the SOLDIER brat before my Superior comes and takes her from you, and you can all live." The teacher knelt down in front of the petrified eight-year-old, tilting her face up to look into blank glowing blue eyes. Dark blood was spattered all across her face, and however minutely it was she was trembling.

"It'll be alright." The aging woman assured her class, using the hem of her denim dress to wipe the blood that was causing so much trauma away from the girl's face. Mira's eyes were still horribly blank, however, her mind seemingly separated from her body from seeing so much blood.

"Mira?" Kelsey asked, pushing on her friend's shoulder. The girl made no response, only blinking slowly as she stared. "Mira!"

"I'm so sorry, Miss. Leirbach, but we have to get out of here." Mrs. Buxley apologized, before taking the silent girl by the shoulder and slapping her across the face. With a start and a shocked scream, the light and intelligence of awareness came back to the eight-year-old's glowing eyes.

"Summon your dad!" Kelsey urged, pointing out at the semicircle of darkly-clothed people criss-crossed with glowing blue lines.

"Mrs. Buxley... What's going on?" Mira asked, blinking widely at the multitude of people in the room. The commanding officer stood where he had before, his hands clasped behind his back as he sneered down at the students.

"They want to take you away." The aging teacher explained, the eight-year-old's eyes shining with fear and what seemed to be recognition at the sight of the man looming over their heads behind the hexagonal shield. "But I won't let them."

"It's okay." Mira said softly, slowly getting to her feet and brushing off her brown skirt. Her fingers ghosted across a wet patch darker than the rest of the fabric, black transferring to her fingertips, and she shuddered slightly in fear before wiping it off. "Right... Private Lazare?"

The commander tilted his head back and laughed, his hands coming forward and clapping a few times. The empty sound echoed in the room, the only other noise that of several of the girls crying and the mechanical rustle of metal on cloth.

"Brigadier General now, SOLDIER brat. Though how you remember is beyond me." His mouth, the only thing visible, curled up into a wicked smile. "Now say goodbye to your friends, because you'll never see them again." Mira turned, looking at the fearful faces of her classmates. Kelsey waved goodbye, but Mrs. Buxley grabbed her hand and made her stop.

"Can I just say one thing?" The little girl asked, absentmindedly shoving her frayed red ribbon back up into her hair from her forehead.

"Make it quick. Unless you want them slaughtered, of course." The Brigadier General's smile faltered for a moment, but returned full force when the girl looked horrified. "Then you can take as long as you like."

The eight-year-old's eyes were downcast, her fingers absently playing with her Four Slots. She turned it around and around, fingertips trailing over each mound of hardened Lifestream protruding from the steel bangle, stopping over the grayish-black one with the ghost image of a skull inside. In a lightning-fast movement she snapped her head up, holding the armlet forward.

"Forgotten Guard!" She yelled, a sweet-smelling wind whipping through the soldiers in the room. A bright flash of light accompanied by stray flower petals heralded the Summon, and in a ringing of steel and a spray of blood the Brigadier General's head was rolling across the floor. In a cloud of dark colors and flashing metal, a bloody swathe was cut through the humans and monsters that were firing bullets and jumping for attacks in a constant rain.

Zack slashed left and right, his Buster Sword cutting through the soldiers armor like a knife through soft butter. Blood sprayed every which way, black and red decorating the walls of the classroom like so many splashes of paint as he fulfilled his duty. The First-Class SOLDIER whirled around, bringing his massive sword down over his head with a yell, only for it to stop short with a metallic ring. The rush of the slaughter gone, Zack raised an eyebrow at the woman before him.

She was beautiful, but in an extremely dangerous way. In one hand she held some sort of weapon, its double edges glinting as lightning flashed. With the other arm she had blocked the direct downward swing of a sword that easily weighed a Metric Ton. Both of her forearms were encased in metal gauntlets, a black bodysuit and red armor laced with bright blue lines matching the train she had flowing across the bodies on the floor and the stiletto heels she wore.

"Vell, vell. Zis is an interestink turn of events." She said, effortlessly throwing the weight of the Buster Sword and the First Class pushing as hard as he could on it away from her arm. "But... I sink zat zis is not ze best time for confrontations, no?"

"Who the hell are you?" Zack asked, leveling his massive sword at the woman. She returned the favor, leveling her weapon at him.

"My name is Rosso ze Crimson. I am a Tsviet of Deepground, and I am here not only for ze girl, but for anozer man as vell." The woman's accent was heavy, possibly Knowspolish, and as she gestured to the shield surrounding the class and their teacher she smiled in a way that made her almost seem to grow fangs. "And she is ze ticket to him."

Mira stood rooted to the spot, her hands clasped in front of her chest as she whimpered slightly and swayed on her feet. Too many things were happening in too short a time, and the girl was so shell shocked that when the Tsviet suddenly threw one hand towards her, a fireball erupting from it and impacting the shield, that she didn't even blink. Zack struck out at the woman, managing to barely clip her before she took hold of his sword in one hand and threw him through a wall.

"Mira!" He called, struggling to his feet and using the Buster Sword as a crutch to help himself up with. "Run!"

She tried to. She really did. But as Rosso came steadily closer, she couldn't do a single thing. Mrs. Buxley put an arm in front of the girl, attempting to shield her, but the Tsviet simply reached through the hexagonal shield created by the teacher's Materia and batted the aging woman's appendage away. It was only after the redhead had gotten a firm hold around the girl's neck and lifted her free of the protection that Mrs. Buxley had created that the eight-year-old began to squirm.

"Put her down!" The teacher said, grasping her old sword with both hands and making ready to attack. Rosso paid the woman no mind, instead sweeping around to come face-to-face with the girl's very angry Summoned father.

"The lady said to put her down." Zack ordered, holding the Buster Sword out level with one arm. Mira scrabbled frantically at the Tsviet's hand with both of her smaller ones, her breath coming out in short gasps. "Now, put. My daughter. Down."

"How sveet." The woman laughed, the sound like metal nails on a chalkboard. "You care for her, even zo you are dead." With a roar, the First-Class charged forward. Rolling her eyes, Rosso threw her weapon forward, point first, into his chest. He stopped dead, blinking a few times before looking down at the blade sticking from his chest. He opened his mouth to say something, but in a flash of light and a swirl of white feathers, both he and his weapon were gone.

"Daddy!" Mira managed to choke out, abandoning her attempts to get more breathing room to reach for where her father had been. Rosso shook the girl, shaking her own head as she collected her weapon and strode for the window where she had originally come through. As soon as they were clear, the rain soaking them both to the bone, the woman turned back to the school building. She held Mira's head and forced her to watch as she called up a fireball and threw it into the building, the hand she used sizzling and smoking afterwards.

"Zat is vhy you should have come vithout a fight." The Tsviet laughed at the tears streaming down the girl's face. Having caught the edge of a carpet depicting the world, the fire quickly spread. Kelsey and another girl both began using Ice Two and Water One Materia, but it had little effect on the soon roaring blaze.

"As long as we're in here, we'll be safe." Mrs. Buxley assured, but the children still looked worried. The blaze began consuming the bodies of the dead Deepground soldiers, electrical conduits in uniforms and helmets popping and cracking under severe heat. It was a definite that the fire had spread to more places than just the one room, but how many was not certain.

Mira watched with wide eyes as part of the roof caved in and flames jutted out. She aimed a weak kick at Rosso, but the woman simply shook her again and forced her towards the flames. The eight-year-old's fear and terror were joined by morbid curiosity, as she couldn't close her eyes or look away.

"You brought zis upon zem." The Tsviet nearly cooed, as though it was the most amazing thing she had ever seen or heard. "Zis is your fault."

* * *

**Like that wasn't the most confusing thing I've ever written. But don't worry, it just gets even more confusing as you go along. Especially next chapter. Next chapter is like monkeys in a barrel.  
**


	8. Voices

**Remnant Of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer:**_I own Mira, Kelsey, Mrs. Buxley, the Pandora Summon (I think, there might be one somewhere that I'm unaware of) and Milorr the Crystalline, as well as various background characters. I do not, however, own the universe I put them in._

_Chapter 8_

* * *

_Darkness shrouded places that it shouldn't have, steel walls glinting in a sinister manner. From her point of view she saw two people, though she couldn't see faces. The smaller one sat in a sophisticated manner, her legs tucked under her and her hands folded in her lap. The older one sat cross-legged, a long metal appendage brushing the ground with a metallic scrape. She knew these people, she knew this place._

**ThisisnotyourlifeNO**

**NoTyOuRl_IfE_!**

**LET_THEMDO_WHATTHEYWILL**

_An electric green IV ran from a bag to her arm, her defeated and disgruntled opponent glaring across the room through silver bangs that fell in his face. She stuck out her tongue and pulled down an eyelid, only to be slapped by the man in the white coat next to her. The boy laughed as she began to whimper, the slap having impacted her IV and knocked the needle askew under her skin._

_**It's alright. **_

_**Never give up hope. There's nothing to fear.**_

_**I would never let them hurt you.**_

_She remembered. She knew she wasn't supposed to and that it was all a lie, but she held onto the precious memories she pretended to have. She remembered being told that her sister was dead, and she remembered the appalled looks and one of appraisal as she had used her weapons to rip out the throat of a failed experiment. She wasn't supposed to, but she remembered._

**BURNTHEMCRUSHTHEM**

_**Never forget who you are. **_

**MoT_hER_KNoWsB_ES_T**

"Wake up, FX." She had heard that voice before, haunting her dreams and loving her nightmares so sweetly. "You have a job to do."

"Yes, sir?" Her reply was as weak as her will to move, her concentration going only to opening her eyes. The bright green of Mako stung as she did, the visage outside her tank swimming from right to left in a desperate bid for normalcy.

"You are to finish your original assignment." He said, white hair swimming into view as the tank began to drain. She slowly touched metal with her bare feet, but her strength had returned to the point that she could stand unaided.

"Hail Weiss." She nodded in understanding, sticky silver hair falling into her face as she did so. The Mako tank opened with a mechanical hiss, and the woman stumbled through it while pulling a glowing green IV from her arm. The room was cold, she noted, and she was extremely naked and dripping green goo all over the steel floor. But there were her things in a neat pile on a table in front of her, nearly the same folds in them as the ones she had last made. With a small smile, the woman picked up one of the long silver gauntlets laying on top of her clothes. The claws were long and sharp without joints, each first knuckle inset with a Mastered Materia. She slid it on, her fingers automatically finding each of their places as she inspected the three linked slots along the upper rim of her weapon.

"Everything seems to be in order." She muttered, her voice crackling from disuse and dryness. "**OfcO****URr****se iT Is!**" Her head snapped to one side as though she was staring at someone, her voice changing from her own disused one to an angrier and far more vile one. "**Th**_**eY**_** A****r****E A**_**FRaiDofy**_**ouA****N****D Wha**_**t you**_**CaND****O**" Her expression changed once more as she pulled the gauntlet off and set it with its twin, instead pulling a set of underclothes from the top of the pile and quickly putting them on.

"Yes, Mother." She nodded, green goo dripping from her silver hair and slowly turning into a puddle around her feet. Once again her head moved to the side, but this time with a more gentler motion and in the opposite direction. "_Milorr, sweetie, listening to her will get you killed._" Her voice was kind this time, like a loving and caring mother. "_All her sons are dead because they listened to her._"

"**T**_**hEy arE**_**dE****ad****bE****c****a usE**** thEy**_** wErE**__**wE**__**ak**_" Milorr's head snapped to the other side, her voice grating as her hands twitched towards her head. "_They are dead because of your favorite son!_" Finally it seemed as though the silver-haired woman had had enough, her hands flying to her head as she sank to her knees.

"Stop! Please!" She cried out, shaking her head and sending green goo everywhere. When the voices quieted, she was left with nothing more than echoes in the empty steel room. Without another word, for fear of aggravating the voices once more, the woman dressed quickly. Her leather jacket just barely creaked from age and disuse as she pulled it on, blue lines firing into life as she pulled her zipper up to her neck. Her zipper pull was the symbol of the Tsviets, single Mako crystal glinting dully in the ambient light. Metal scratched against metal as Milorr picked her boots up from the floor, spitting on one thumb and rubbing dried blood and dust from the wicked-looking and sharp metal toe caps. She pulled them on once she had finished, metal heels making sparks fly on the steel floor.

"_You shouldn't do this._" Her head gently turned to one side, her voice soft. "**Sh**_**eW**_**ILL ****d**** o wh**_**atIWAn**_**T!**" Again her head snapped to the other side, spittle flying from her mouth as she snapped a reply.

"Mothers, I will do what my lord Weiss commands me to. I am a Tsviet, and I will do my duty." Milorr said, a wicked smile coming to her features as she slid one of her gauntlets on. The Materia on the knuckles and around the top lip flared into life, a total of eleven in all. The same happened as she pulled on the other, and she flexed her fingers inside to see just how well her weapons had been taken care of. As she suspected, they were in the same condition as when she had last left them. She shook them both off and ran her hands through her hair, squeezing the last of the bright green Mako goo from the long silver strands. Looking down at the table expectantly, the woman saw what exactly she was looking for. She snatched up the long black silk ribbon, tying her long hair back into a ponytail. Her bangs broke free and fell onto the sides of her face, and she retied the knot in the ribbon a bit tighter.

"_Milorr, resign. No good will come of this._" Her voice this time, while still soft and loving, was stern and commanding.

"If I resign, I'll be put back in the tank. Back into cold storage." Milorr replied, pulling her gauntlets back on. Looking back at the tank she had spent so much time in, the silver-haired woman spat on the floor in its general direction. "And that's something I would like to avoid." Raising one hand in the direction of the large bit of machinery, the sphere of Materia inset on her pinkie finger glowed with a bright green light rivaling that of the Mako around her feet. "Ultima Three." She commanded, turning away as a cloud of sparkling green engulfed the tank. With purpose Milorr strode from the room, a bright green flash going off behind her as she kicked the heavy vault-like door shut behind her.

* * *

Yuffie clicked through a few songs on her music player with one dirt-crusted hand, her other digging at the roots of a stubborn weed growing out from under the floor. Not paying attention, her finger slipped and the volume went up to ear-blastingly high levels. The Ninja cried out in shock, pulling her earbuds from her ears and throwing them away from herself. Her favorite band, Camui, echoed around the room as a slight buzz because of the high volume. 

"Leviathan dammit..." She muttered, picking them up and turning the volume down. She restarted the song with her thumb and returned to pulling weeds by their roots, working her way towards a crack in the wall surrounded by thick vegetation. Rain fell hard on the roof in a nearly unavoidable drone as she worked, the occasional drop making its way through the newly-lost shingles and falling to the cold stone floor. Eventually Yuffie made her way to the brambles, and it was with a slight grin that she wiped her hands off on her pants and looked around the ground carefully for flammable objects besides the grass that she hated so much. Putting her hands together in a few seals, she brought her fingers to her mouth and blew through them. A burst of flame flew out, scorching the plants down to the ground and throwing ashes all over the walls. A very slight light blue glow was coming from the crack in the wall that the plants seemed to originate from, and without warning it began to glow brighter.

"What the hell?" Yuffie yelled, falling backwards onto her hands as she watched the plants she had just burned grow back to their original size. As soon as it had begun, though, it stopped. Realizing just what was doing it, the Ninja rolled her eyes and began digging through the tall crabgrass, buckwheat strands and wild peas that made up the indoor foliage of the manor. Without hesitation she reached her gloved hand into the crack, drawing out a perfect sphere of light blue Haste Materia.

"Figures." She said, before standing up and pocketing the orb. The weeds could wait now, since they certainly wouldn't be growing back after the next time she got at them. After all, she needed a bath soon or else the dirt all over her would cake in. The Kunoichi quickly jumped up the stairs two at a time, her earbuds back in her ears as she sang along to her favorite song. She passed the stained glass windows overlooking Nibelheim at a run, but suddenly stopped and ran back. Something had caught her eye, and it didn't look good. A bright orange glow penetrated the murky weather, the source at a building near the center of town. Suddenly it dawned on her, and she nearly screamed.

"Shit, that's the school!" She yelled, her bath forgotten as she took a running leap over the banister and sped for the door. Halfway out she turned again, grabbing her poncho and hat from their pile by the door and then running to the kitchen and taking her Conformer from the tabletop. Throwing the Moogle poncho over her shoulders and pulling her hat on over her head, Yuffie ran like the wind towards the town.

* * *

**So... Yeah. Milorr the Crystalline has Schizophrenia. Really bad Schizophrenia. And she calls the voices 'Mother'...Well, that's a Remnant for you!**

**But yeah. Back to Rosso, Mira and the burning building next chapter. **


	9. Saved by the Knights

**Remnant Of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer: **_Guesswhat? GUESSWHATGUESSWHATGUESSWHAT? Chicken butt. Oh, and when Chapter 12 is posted I'll be well on my way to SakuraCon. Scary, eh? Friday I'll be Konan, Saturday Larxene and Sunday Fem!Demyx. Hope to see any one of you there! _

_Chapter 9_

* * *

The fire burned relentlessly, sparks and wet ashes flying into the dark sky. Silently crying, Mira tried to look away. Rosso shook her, holding her in the direction of the fire. In the distance the eight-year-old could hear the undulating whine of fire engine sirens, but she knew that they wouldn't make it in time to save the building. 

"Zis is your fault, little one." The Tsviet mocked, her lips curled into a feral-looking grin. "You should not have summoned your fazer. In fact, you should not have done a single zing." Finally the woman threw Mira to the ground, the girl laying dejectedly in a deep puddle. Angry-looking purple and red marks were splotched along the sides of her neck, surrounded by small fingernail scratches from her helpless attempts for more breathing room.

"Why?" The eight-year-old finally asked, glowing blue eyes full of tears. "Russa, why?" Rosso sneered, kicking the girl in the side with considerable strength and sending her flying into one of the trees in the playground. The bark splintered under her back as she cried out, and the Tsviet laughed out loud.

"I've told you never to call me zat!" She warned, walking slowly up to the little girl and kicking her savagely in the side. She stopped, however, as a multitude of weapons embedded themselves in the ground around her. Blue lines connected each one to a source behind the woman, and with a sudden jerk they all flew back towards her. She blocked them with her weapon, spinning it several times so as to shield herself, before turning around.

"Tidal Wave!" A voice called out, a crystalline teal light coming from somewhere on top of the burning building. A deafening roar rang out through the valley, and in a swirl of rain clouds and a renewal of the downpour a massive teal sea serpent slithered out of the clouds. It hung in the air over the school before curling up on the ground, rearing up and spitting a continuous jet of water at the building. The fire was soon doused, sizzling timbers the only sound besides the yelling of the townsfolk. The massive Leviathan Summon roared once more before slithering back into the clouds. The rain seemed to fall harder than ever afterwards, and Rosso rolled her eyes before conjuring a fireball to throw. It was immediately doused by the heavy rain, and she tried again. This time, only a curl of smoke lifted from her hand.

"Who dares do zis to me?" The woman screamed, outraged. She hefted her weapon in one hand, aiming the point of one of the bright red blades at Mira. The little girl whimpered in fear, curling in on herself.

"The World's Greatest Ninja, Yuffie Kisaragi!" A woman called out, before a blueish streak of movement jumped from the shadowed and charred roof of the main burnt building. The Tsviet's large red weapon was quickly moved from an attack position on the girl on the ground to a defensive position, blocking the super-speed attack delivered by the Kunoichi. In a split second Yuffie made a sweep at her legs, pulling her Conformer around to take a swipe at her somewhat-uncovered midsection. Rosso jumped back, bringing one of the blades of her weapon down at the Ninja in a vicious strike. It was quickly blocked as Yuffie rolled out of the way, twisting and trying to slam her star into the woman's back. The two women's weapons met in a crash of sparks, and they jumped apart in a spray of mud and screams.

"Ze girl is mine! You have nosing to do wis zis!" The Tsviet yelled, shifting her weapon in front of her.

"Yuffie! She's too strong, run away!" Mira screamed, clutching on to the tree she had been thrown against and standing on shaky feet. Yuffie shook her head, rainwater and mud flying from the Moogle-head hood of her beige poncho.

"I'm getting you out of here, kiddo! The WRO'll be here soon!" She assured, holding her Conformer at the ready. A cloud of green misted from the large Master Magic set into the center of the weapon, traveling quickly to envelop Rosso completely. The Ultima spell exploded in a flash of color, throwing the Tsviet back into the playstructure.

"You have no claim on her." She said, her voice heard loudly over the wailing of WRO sirens coming closer and the heavy rain. The redhead wiped a streak of blood from the side of her mouth with the back of her hand, pushing herself out of the twisted metal and splintered wood surrounding her.

"Stay down!" Yuffie was suddenly in front of her, delivering a snap kick to her head and then whipping around to plunge her weapon into the woman's back. The Tsviet blocked her weapon with her gauntlet, a spray of sparks jumping into the air and a deep rut forming in the metal from the odd trajectory.

"You cannot defeat me wis zat child's toy!" The two sprung away from each other once again, the Kunoichi throwing her large four-spoked Conformer squarely into the tree Mira stood by and reaching into her belt pouch. Keeping her eyes trained on Rosso, she pulled out a scroll with black edges and bit her thumb to draw blood. With a deft flick the scroll was open and a line of blood was drawn across the ink, and in a crack like a gunshot and a plume of smoke the ink was gone and the Ninja held her massive five-spoked old Conformer. The pink and yellow colors glinted dully in the flashes of lightning that seemed to be even more frequent than they had been before.

"You want child's toy? Here's a child's toy!" Every slot of Yuffie's old Conformer was occupied by a Master Materia, one of which, next to the center, was a large red lump that looked unrefined and uncut. "Ultimate End!"

Rosso's eyes widened as she realized just what had been summoned, trying to raise her weapon in defense before King Arthur descended with his Knights of the Round Table. Yuffie jumped backwards and landed next to Mira, yanking her four-spoked Conformer from the tree and shouldering her five-spoked one. She handed the newer one to the eight-year-old before picking her up in her unoccupied arm, turning quickly in time to see several WRO trucks fishtail into the school's parking lot. Soldiers piled out of the trucks with urgency, paying no heed to the massive men that surrounded the Tsviet with their weapons held high. They began busting into the burned school building in groups, looking for survivors.

"She won't die, run!" Mira urged, clutching the four-spoked Conformer to her side with a death-like grip. Yuffie nodded, activating the Haste Materia one more time to speed up into a blue blur that jumped along rooftops on its way to the Manor. The eight-year-old watched over her shoulder as Summons were used to rip the wreckage of her school apart, a Diamond Dust blowing away a section of the roof from the inside and exposing the still-shielded forms of her class.

* * *

"You alright, kiddo?" Rain poured heavily from the skies, buckets upon buckets in a torential downpour that seemed unending. Mira looked forlornly at her grayish-black Summon the Dead, the Blank Materia next to it glowing faintly pink every time lightning arched across the sky. 

"Russa beat him." The little girl muttered, running her fingers over the almost forlornly-glowing Summon. "Russa beat daddy." Yuffie kicked the doors of the Manor open, setting Mira down before closing them once again and pulling off her Moogle-head hood.

"Russa's the crazy redhead with the tricked-out Bat'LetH, right?" The Kunoichi asked, and the eight-year-old nodded silently. She shivered a few times, her clothes soaked through by the rain.

"Her title's Rosso the Crimson." Picking her old five-spoked star up from the floor, Yuffie pulled the Master Magic from one of its blades and held it in front of her.

"You sure know a lot about her, kiddo. Cure Three." A soothing green glow, accompanied by the slight ringing of bells and shadows dancing across the walls in the shape of shamrocks, bathed both girls in a healing balm. "Anything you want to tell me?"

"I don't remember her real well. I was kinda little last time I saw her. Like... Three or something. She's from way up in the Kno'spole, but last time she couldn't throw fireballs at people like Ifrit." The little girl picked at a piece of crabgrass growing from the floor like a carpet, frowning. "But back then she was just Rosso Flynn, an' she had just been recruit'd to... To..." Mira seemed reluctant to finish her sentence, biting her lower lip.

"Esuna. Rosso had just been recruited to what, Mira?" Yuffie asked, casting Esuna over both of them and then sliding the Master Magic back into her old five-spoked Conformer. Pulling a brush with a few characters written down one side from her weapons pouch, the soaked Ninja unrolled the scroll her old weapon had been sealed into and began re-writing the seal.

"To Deepground." As the Kunoichi looked up with a bit of a puzzled expression, Mira suddenly found something on the ground very interesting. Finishing her last stroke, Yuffie stowed her brush back in her pocket and grabbed her old Conformer. She hugged it tightly to her chest and put her arms around it to make a few seals, before taking the weapon in one hand and pressing it to the scroll.

"Buki Menuri no Jutsu!" She called out, and in a puff of smoke the old weapon full of Master Materia disappeared into the cloth. Mira watched in wonder as the symbols on the scroll swam of their own accord, re-arranging themselves until they found their correct places. In the silence that followed the two girls looked at each other with wide smiles, before finally bursting out into laughter. It died down quickly, though, and Yuffie worried her lip as she rolled up her weapon scroll and put in her pocket. She rolled back from her feet to sit on the floor, gathering her legs together and raising an eyebrow at the eight-year-old that was still giggling slightly.

"What?" Her eyes large and questioning, Mira cocked her head to one side and tried to imitate the Ninja's raised eyebrow.

"Mira..." The Ninja began, looking a bit apprehensive. "How do you know all this?" The soaked little girl turned her Four Slots around a few times, smiling like it was perfectly normal.

"After I hit Cindy Goldshmidt 'cause she hit me with her stuffed Chickobo, mom had to take me out of daycare... Remember?" She adjusted her red ribbon slightly, waiting for a nod of confirmation. When none came, the girl continued anyway. "She couldn't take me anywhere else, so she took me to work with her."

* * *

**And in a few words, all the confusion is explained. Sakuracon is eating my brains and I must go and die a painful death now. Goodbye.**


	10. Home Invasion

**Remnant of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer:**_I'm getting onto a bit of a Bleach kick... BLAME KENPACHI AND YACHIRU! ... And Hitsugaya, and Karin..._

_Chapter 10_

* * *

He hated sewers, he decided. In fact, he hated them even more with every little bit of unidentifiable material that soaked through his boots. He hated the stench, he hated the water, and he really hated the terrible lighting that would occasionally make him fall into a random deep area up to his neck. Mostly, though... Vincent just hated the monsters. He fired another round into the mutant turtle that had been threatening him with a trident, grabbing the Phoenix Down he had left down here for this reason exactly.

"Two more tunnels." He reminded himself quietly, jumping back down into the rank water so as to get out of the disgusting situation. Dispatching one of the turtle-men with a swipe to the head by his clawed hand and another with a splattering of brains across the walls and a gunshot that rang through his ears a dozen times over, the ex-Turk made his way to the access ladder that led to the manor's basement. He double-tapped an extremely persistent turtle-man from about halfway up the ladder, blackish-red blood spattering all over his cape and making small dark spots appear. With a grunt the gunman used his clawed hand to push the sewer hatch out of the way, the heavy lid falling back with a clatter as he climbed out into the passages under the manor. Suddenly blue lines flared into existence all around him, guns trained on his every move by Deepground soldiers. In a flash the Cerberus was out and firing, blood and electric blue material flying every which way as Vincent spun and slashed several more with the sharp edge of one of his shoes.

* * *

"I wanna wear Kenseikan!" Yuffie looked up from the pot of curry she was stirring, turning to catch a glimpse of the TV several feet away and angled slightly away. Mira sat on the dinner table, squirming in excitement as she watched her daily dose of mind-numbing cartoons. She was watching some show about a kid with a large sword, and the Ninja shook her head and rolled her eyes at the eight-year-old on the table.

"Your hair is too untameable. I'd never be able to get the Kenseikan to lay flat." Stirring a few times and then turning the heat off, the Kunoichi moved the pot of curry to the sink to cool.

"So? They're pretty!" Mira protested, pulling at the unruly spikes that made up her bushy mane. Yuffie smiled at her and crossed the kitchen to sit behind her, pulling at a few of her larger spikes along the way.

"Yeah, yeah, and if I'd stayed in Wutai my husband would be wearing them." She smiled, and then perched herself up on the table next to the small girl. "Now... Explain this cartoon to me. I've never seen it, so it must be new." The eight-year-old smiled up at her, before turning back to the fuzzy TV.

"It's about this kid named- hey, what's wrong with the cable?" The picture had gone completely out, replaced by snow and an incessant buzz. Mira jumped to the floor, crossing the small space between the table and the old set in a heartbeat and tapping it a few times on its outdated side.

"Funny name." Yuffie goaded, receiving a glowing blue glare full of frustration. Smiling widely, she hopped from the table and over to the broken TV. It continued to buzz incessantly as the two examined it, finally stopping as Mira pulled the plug.

"Maybe Mrs. Renson figger'd out that you're stealing her cable." The eight-year-old said, and the Kunoichi fiddling with the cables on the back of the TV shrugged noncommittally.

"Naaaaah," she began, pulling the cable jack out and then putting it back in. "I used a special-communications WRO wiretap. She'll never figure it out." The two laughed, and Mira pushed her ribbon back onto the top of her head. Suddenly, the lights went out. Lightning snapped down outside, accompanied immediately by a crash of thunder so loud that the windows rattled. Mira held her ears tightly to protect her hearing, crouching down low next to the wall under one of the kitchen windows.

"Is it over yet?" The small girl's voice was loud in the silence following, drowning out the sound of one of the gutters cracking open and spilling water onto the ground.

"It should be... C'mon, get away from the window." Yuffie reached forward and pulled Mira away from the window, just in time for it to come bursting inwards in a crash and rain of glass. The butt of a rifle protruded in through the broken window, and its wielder came suddenly into view as the blue lines all over his uniform fired into life. Mira screamed in shock, running towards the kitchen door. Yuffie pushed her to help her along, her hands flicking through hand seals at a rapid pace as she whirled back around to the rapidly-multiplying amounts of soldiers in and around the window.

"Suiton, suishoha!" She cried out, all the water in the room swirling around her in a raging whirlpool before crashing out the window and taking out much of the wall in the process. The curry that had been in the sink splattered across many of the soldiers, burning a few in the process. Foregoing her victory dance, the Kunoichi ran out the kitchen door after Mira. In the foyer she grabbed her poncho, tucking it under one arm and slamming her hat on her head before grabbing her Conformer and running up the stairs. She could see blurry glowing blue figures outside the stained glass windows, but continued to run.

"Yuffie!" Mira stood at the end of the hall, holding open the door to the greenhouse. "C'mon!" The Ninja dove inside and rolled to a stop, the little eight-year-old slamming the door behind her and using one hand to drag one of the heavy planters in front of it.

"C'mon, kiddo, get under here." Yuffie said, wedging herself under one of the tables on the far wall. Rain leaked through cracks in a few of the greenhouse windows, dripping loudly in the silence that accompanied them. Mira dove under the table, huddling up next to the Kunoichi.

"We're safe in here, right?" She asked, and the Kunoichi nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine!" She said, looking up at the wooden underside of the table and the sky that lay beyond it.

* * *

"You're letting me on that transport." Several of the guards in the hangar had seen her coming. Of course, they were bored nearly to tears what with the sudden emptying of the main Deepground base, so they had refrained from telling the pilot of the last transport out and the guys onboard just who was coming their way.

"I'm sorry ma'am," one of the soldiers began, standing at attention. "But the transport's about to take off. There's no room left." Milorr raised an eyebrow at the soldier, crossing her menacing-looking arms and sneering.

"Funny. I was under the impression that I had seniority." She snapped, her cat-like green eyes narrowing in anger. "Now move, or I'll move you." The silver-haired woman went to walk around the soldier, but he moved into her way. She stopped, both eyebrows raising.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but only authorized personnel are allowed onto the transports out of the base." The soldier never really knew what hit him as a silver gauntlet closed around his throat and he was lifted from the ground.

"**A**_**n**_**dWh****a t**** ISM**_**ydA ug**_**h ter,****CHOc**_**obo liV**_**er?**" Milorr snapped, her voice taking on a malicious tone as her head snapped to one side. She threw the frightened soldier to the ground, glaring down at him with her glowing eyes that nearly made the unfortunate man piss himself. "I am Milorr the Crystalline, you ungrateful little maggot. If you knew just who your commanding officers were, you wouldn't be in this kind of mess."

The soldier scrambled away, fumbling his gun and nearly firing a few rounds in the process. The silver-haired woman's mouth twisted upwards in a cruel grin as she watched him run, breaking into a laugh that grated like nails on a chalkboard. Several of the soldiers stationed around the hangar shivered in fear at the obviously insane woman, a few even taking a step back. The laughter stopped abruptly, however, and Milorr scraped one of her long claws against the hull of the transport as she boarded it. The soldiers inside all sat stock-still as they waited for her to take a seat, but she did no such thing. Instead, she slammed one of her gauntleted hands into the ceiling and held on to the buckled metal like a handle.

"What're you waiting for, pilot?" She yelled, slamming down the button to close the back hatch of the transport with her free hand. "Get this bird in the air!"

* * *

**Fourteen days until Sakuracon. FOURTEEN DAYS. I'm going totally nuts.**


	11. Death

**Remnant of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer: **_Apologies for the odd-ness of the chapter. The timing included. And wouldn't you know it? A few chapters back, I totally jinxed it. I'm not on my way to Sakuracon, and I won't be going until tomorrow. Oh well, all's well that ends well, I suppose.  
_

_Chapter 11_

* * *

_Everything seemed familiar to Mira as she opened her eyes. The ceiling, painted pink with blue stars and a big smiling white moon, was cast in shadow and streaked across with moonlight. A mobile twisted lazily over her head, little cartoon Chocobos dancing about in a circle. She crowed with delight, reaching up for the stuffed birds with hands that were much smaller than they should have been. But she still couldn't reach, so it was with a bit of difficulty that she rolled herself over, got onto her hands and knees and then pulled herself to her feet to once again grasp for the birds._

_A sudden crash outside her room resonated around the walls, a few pictures stacked on the dresser rattling slightly. Slowly, Mira used her unwieldy feet to turn around and face the door that had been behind her. Fingerpainted pictures were taped up over the surface, one that looked as though it had her name spelled messily in it surrounded by foam hearts that held it stuck to the door. Another crash sounded, and this time the door flew open and a woman with a long black braid fell through. The blue lines on her clothing were cracked and leaking mako, the scarf around her neck stained with what looked like blood._

_Ariana Leirbach staggered to her feet, her Third-Class SOLDIER sword still clutched tightly in her hand. She slung herself into a habitual stance, and pointed the sword towards the door. The night, which had been clear originally, was now a mess of roiling clouds and lightning arching back and forth._

_"You are a _coward_, Ariana." A woman hissed, standing just outside the room and just outside of Mira's field of vision over the walls of her crib. _

_"I don't care. Weiss knows that I can't just carry out an order that involves killing children!" Her black braid whipping around, Ariana turned to the crib behind her. "Stay there, honey." She said, her face a smiling wreck as blood trickled from a cut on her forehead. Her eyes wide, Mira watched mutely as her mother spun around once more and ran her thumb across a yellow piece of Materia inset in the handle of her sword. With an incoherent yell, a massive blast of lightning flew from the weapon and out into the hallway, nearly blasting the woman in the darkness into little bits._

_"And yet you want to be elite." The woman's mocking voice was still there, though, echoing around the room like the thunder outside the window that seemed to get worse and worse as Ariana got angrier and angrier. "Your aim leaves everything to be desired, Ariana. You'll never become a Tsviet like this."_

_"I don't care!" In an instant Mira was snatched up from her crib, held tightly to her mother's chest with one arm as the other held her sword forward. "I don't care about becoming a Tsviet anymore!" Ariana clutched her daughter tighter as the woman speaking paused at the door. In the dim light, occasionally accented by sudden lightning flashes, two long sets of metal claws were illuminated with a shine. The little girl looked away from the extremely scary sight, squeezing her eyes shut. All of a sudden Ariana dropped her to the ground, and rain began to pummel her mercilessly. Looking up and opening her eyes, Mira was surprised to find herself looking at a roiling mass of dark clouds that occasionally flashed with lightning. Her hands were no longer the size of a child's, but rather the size they normally were. They were the tiny hands of her stunted growth, a four-year-old's hands in much need of a growth spurt._

_"Weiss is angry. I thought we had gotten over your little bouts of defiance, but apparently I was wrong in assuming such." The speaker had long silver hair, glowing blue lines tracing up and down her black leather coat and rain making loud plinking noises as it fell against all the metal that adorned her stick-thin form. "You're a Tsviet, Ariana the Drear. You will act as such, and any more refusal to follow orders will be met with lethal force."_

_"If defying orders means keeping my daughter alive and away from you, so be it." Ariana stood proudly, despite the blood slowly trickling from a gash in her side, her old sword clutched tightly in both hands and leveled at the silver-haired woman. "So take your orders and go tell Weiss to stick them where the sun doesn't shine."_

_The laughter that came next was enough to make Mira nearly curl into a ball and wish that everything would be alright. But it wasn't, and the woman's laughter was so grating and so malicious-sounding, that she couldn't help but whimper and try to make herself as small and as unnoticeable as possible._

_"I doubt that Weiss would order his brother about so willy-nilly." She said, a smirk that exposed pointed canines forming on her pale, thin lips. "After all, darkness is Nero the Sable's forte." The woman continued on nonchalantly, as though Ariana hadn't just jumped at her with a yell and a swing of her sword. The two exchanged blows in a shower of sparks, silver hair flicking about as the woman in black whirled around and tried to take Ariana's legs out from under her with the edge of her shoe. But with her braid flipping out and catching her assailant in the face, she evaded the razor-sharp swipe and brought her sword down on the silver-haired woman's head. It barely connected before the woman threw it back with one of her gauntlets, lightning flashing and making all of the scene glow for a moment._

_"You were always weak." The woman said, watching as Ariana stepped back several paces to gain her footing, only to slip on a wet piece of cardboard and have her already injured leg fall out from under her. "Now, if you tell me where she is I may just let you live. You may loose a few pints of blood, but what's that between friends?"_

_"Mira's probably half way to what's left of Banora by now. She runs as fast as her father, you know. You'll never catch her; not in those heels." Ariana tried to lift her sword so as to lift herself up on it, but the silver-haired woman kicked it from her and out into the street._

_"Don't lie to me, Ariana. I hate it when you lie." She sneered, adjusting one of her gauntlets that had been knocked slightly askew in the fight._

_"C'mon, Milorr. You know as well as I do that the girl can get through anything, and the gates into the Slums and out of here count. I'm betting she's already out." Behind the trashcan, Mira fought back a whimper. Not because she was cold or that she was scared, but that her mother really did believe that, and she was wrong._

_"Then I will kill you, and head the search party for her." Flexing her fingers, Milorr smiled wickedly at the sparks thrown into the wet air by the grating metal._

_"You don't have to do this, Milorr." Ariana struggled to get to her feet, favoring her injured leg as she wiped blood from her eyes. The two women stared each other down, metal shining in yet another flash of lightning._

_"Sorry Ariana, just following orders." Milorr's tone was almost mocking as she raised her gauntleted arms above her head, her Haste Materia shining brightly in the darkness. Lightning flashed brightly one last time, coming down dangerously close to the silver-haired woman and making the asphalt turn an angry red and bubble._

_"Milorr, no!" In a flash of blue Haste and a spray of blood, Mira's eyes snapped open and she bolted to her feet._

With a mighty crack, the eight-year-old smacked her head on the underside of the low gardening table in the greenhouse she and Yuffie had dove into. She swore violently, using several words she may or may not have heard Cid yelling while in her presence. Tears leaked out of the corners of her large eyes as she sat back down, cradling the back of her head with both hands.

"You alright there, kiddo?" Yuffie gently pried the girl's hands from her head, shifting aside spike after spike of messy black hair to look for any bleeding. But still Mira continued to cry, finally curling in on herself and sobbing into her knees. The Kunoichi wrapped both arms around the little girl, hugging her close in an effort both to muffle her noise and to calm her. Still she carried on, finally wriggling around and grasping the front of the Ninja's Moogle poncho so as to sob into her shoulder. The action sent her Four Slots sliding down to her elbow, clicking against a metal watering pail and turning it just enough that it made the piece of Blank Materia, now visibly a very light pink, turn towards the roof of the greenhouse and catch just barely enough light from a flash of lightning to make it shine.

"Hey," Yuffie began, pulling the eight-year-old from her shoulder and wiping her tears away from her cheeks with both thumbs. "Whatever is wrong, I'll make it right. Okay?" Mira shook her head at this, hiccuping a few times before drawing her knees to her chest and staring blankly ahead with her glowing blue eyes.

"You can't make this one right." The Kunoichi was alarmed at the amount of resignation in her tone of voice, making the little girl sound like a slightly higher-pitched and squeakier Vincent. It could have been cute, save for the hurt that emanated from the eight-year-old much like the sorrow that had originally come from the scarlet-clad gunslinger that was her somewhat-adopted father. Suddenly Yuffie whirled to face the door, nearly hitting her head on a terracotta planter in the process. A crash, much like that of two cars being forcefully united with both each other and a stone wall, made the floor of the greenhouse shake ever-so-slightly. All was silent for a moment, before the Ninja slunk out from under the gardening table and peered out of one of the broken greenhouse panes. It was raining heavily, the drops mixed with sleet and a few little bits of snow, but besides that it was totally clear.

"They're gone." The Kunoichi said, using her one gloved hand to smash the rest of the glass out of the window. Mira slowly crawled out from under the gardening table, peering out into the night. She yelped in surprise, however, as Yuffie grabbed her around the middle and hoisted her through the window, before following the little girl onto the slick shingles. Together they made their way to the edge of the roof, where the Ninja once again grabbed the eight-year-old and hoisted her up, before jumping down to the ground and landing in a crouch. Both of them, absolutely soaked, quickly made their way to the window of the Piano Room.

"The window's locked." Mira tried pushing up on the window, yet it wouldn't budge. Yuffie rolled her eyes and shook her head, before reaching in through the freshly-broken window and flipping the catch of the lock. She barely got her arm out of the way before it sprang open, what was left of the glass shattering to the floor and onto the quickly-softening ground outside. Quietly laughing, Mira grabbed ahold of the windowsill and pulled herself up and into the room with a grunt. Yuffie followed silently, jumping first from the windowsill to the floor and then from the floor to the ajar hallway door. Someone began yelling in the foyer, followed by a sharp yell that sounded more masculine than anything.

Yuffie slunk down the hallway to the door into the foyer, motioning for Mira to follow her. The door was already open, and in a lightning-quick movement and a slight puff of smoke an empty scroll lay at the eight-year-old's feet and the Kunoichi was already hiding behind the only remaining staircase. Frightened, the little girl put one glowing eye to the wide area uncovered by the open door. What she saw, however, was enough to make her stumble backwards and clasp her hands over her mouth until she hit the wall.

It was Vincent, and it was Rosso the Crimson. The woman was splattered with blood, dark blood that just barely glowed to Mako-enhanced eyes, and in her hand she held a large and bright purple piece of Materia with what looked like a galaxy inside of it. A corresponding pool of blood was beginning to puddle around his body, the glow slowly becoming more noticeable until it was probably visible to the normal eye. Mira slid down to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest and biting the side of her hand as hard as she could to keep from screaming. Her ribbon fell, wet and frayed, onto her forehead, but she didn't even begin to notice it. She rocked back and forth, trying so very hard not to scream, even though she knew it was true.

Vincent was gone. Just like her mumma, and Kyra, and all the other kids that had been taken by the Remnants. And this time, she knew, he wouldn't wake up.

* * *

**Oh noes! Deepground has the Protomateria, Yuffie's about to spring into action and Mira's having a heart attack! Or maybe an anxiety attack. Or maybe just a panic attack! But either way... Some of the trailer has been incorporated! _Just why the hell Ariana Leirbach was so sorry when she saw Vincent in Penance _HAS BEEN EXPLAINED! Kinda. Ya know, Tsviet, kill him and take the Protomateria, learned his innermost secrets so as to take him down... That kinda stuff.**

**OH YEAH! And this whole chapter was written solely on hype from watching the Crisis Core ad twelve times in one day. Four separate times on three different channels! The Odin summon looks EFFING AWESOME! Not to mention Crisis Core coming out in the US has gotten my FFVII hype back. Just in time for the con, ladies and gentlemen!**

**Lt. Commander Richie is OUTTA HERE, MAAN.**


	12. Summons Don't Die

**Remnant of Dreams**

_©®™ Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer: **_I've got toe palsy from four inch heels. As soon as I regain feeling in them, I'll think up something witty. I mean, seriously. The last time I wore those heels was Saturday the 29th, when I was Larxene all day, and I still can't feel most of the toes on my right foot!  
_

_Chapter 12_

* * *

Vincent knew he was moving before he opened his eyes. Of course, that could have been because the WRO transport he was in hit a bump and jarred something in his chest that made him hiss in pain. But he still managed to prop himself up and look around, his still slightly-blurry sight coming to rest on a lump of beige on the bench across from him. He figured he had seen something like it before, but his memory was so cloudy at the moment that he just couldn't be sure.

"Morning!" The lump said, waving happily. He knew it seemed rude, really, it did, but he just couldn't place anything at the moment.

"Who're you?" The gunslinger asked, swinging his legs around and putting a hand to his head. The woman jumped up, putting hands on her hips in a angry stance.

"Geez, Vinnie! If you gotta ask, be a bit nicer about it!" She snubbed her nose up in the air, turning around and facing away from him. "But fine, if you gotta ask then you gotta ask. See if you can guess!"

"Fine." Vincent raised an eyebrow at the woman, still not too sure just who she was. It was at the front of his mind, yet he couldn't put a face to the name or a name to the face. It was as though something was missing from him, and he couldn't connect anything because of it.

"I'll give you a hint! I'm the champion of the earth and the sky!" He shook his head, and she whirled around and stomped one foot. "Fine! I'm the defeater of evil!"

"Still nothing." He said, even though it really was all swimming back to him. Maybe a bit at a time, but he was coming back into focus. It had just taken a little while.

"Single white rose of Wutai?" Vincent shook his head once more, trying to keep a smile from forming on his face. It was obscenely interesting to watch the Ninja squirm, and the fact that he was the one doing it was just even better. She finally ripped off her poncho, throwing it to the floor and growling low. "Fine then! Just be that way!" A laugh came, unbidden, from his throat at that. Yuffie stopped dead, whirling around and pointing at him.

"You!" She yelled, looking nearly ready to smack him. "You almost get offed by Rosso the Crimson and that's all you can do to me? I was worried sick!"

"I was almost-" Yuffie cut him off again, crossing her arms and glaring daggers at him.

"Yes! She stuck her hand in your chest and ripped out a freakin' huge piece of Materia! You think I'm bad about this? Mira thought you were dead!" Vincent froze, realizing just what happened to the small girl. Having something ripped out of one's chest usually meant lots of blood. With her level of Hemophobia and her attachment to him...

"Where is she?" He asked, trying to push himself to his feet. Yuffie made a small noise much like a startled Chocobo and tried to push him back down, slamming her open palms on his chest. One hand impacted the area over his heart, and he gasped in pain and fell backwards.

"She's up front with Marx." The Ninja supplied, putting her hands on her hips and glaring down at him. "And you're still injured, so you're not going anywhere until we get back to the WRO."

"Is she alright?" Vincent asked, his clawed hand coming to rest over his heart and feeling the new scar tissue that covered the area.

"She's pretty bad, Vinnie." Yuffie sat down on the bench next to him, the both of them swaying as the transport went over a bump. "She thought you were dead until that wound sealed up and she could feel a pulse."

"I'll talk to her when we get there." The Kunoichi leaned on his shoulder, closing her eyes and sighing. The two of them sat like that for a while, one of his arms wrapping around her shoulders in a simple embrace.

"She's gonna hate you, Vinnie." The Ninja finally said, sighing. Vincent closed his eyes and leaned his head on top of hers, half of an accepting smile on his face.

"I figured as much."

* * *

"You lost to some little Wutainian bitch? _**YO uw**__**eR**_**e SU**_**p p**_**osEdto fi****nisH**_**hi**_**m ****o**_**f**__**f**_**!**" Cat-eyes narrowed dangerously, Milorr held one of her arms down from an attempt other than her own to thrust her gauntleted sharp fingers through Rosso's neck and rip out her Jugular.

"You say zat as if ze fault is mine." The redhead curled a lip at the leather-clad woman, chipping dried blood off of her clawed gloves with a noncommittal air. "Zat Vutai flea vas already here." Pausing her cleaning, the Tsviet looked up. "But you vill never believe who zey have adopted." Milorr's head snapped up, silver hair swaying in the slight breeze that came in through the broken windows of the ShinRa Mansion.

"Who?" She asked, raising a perfectly-plucked eyebrow in slight questioning.

"Ze daughter of Ariana ze Drear." Rosso supplied, her lip still curled as she pulled her massive red weapon from the ground and began scraping the dark blood from one end of it. As she touched it, however, the darkened substance dissolved into a series of small white feathers that floated gently to the ground before fading away. "And can you believe it? Ze girl still calls me Russa!"

"You may not be completely useless after all, Rosso." Milorr spun around, gesturing to a line of Deepground soldiers. They snapped to attention, saluting smartly."All of you," she began, making her way towards the front door with the steel in her shoes clicking ominously in the otherwise silent mansion. "You're coming with me."

Rosso paused her cleaning of her weapon, shifting it to one side so as to better see her colleague. "Vhere do you sink you are going?" She asked, hefting the bladed weapon over her shoulder and putting her free hand on her hip. "Veiss has stationed you vith me!"

"Weiss has ordered me to finish my mission." The silver-haired woman paused, turning slowly and fixing the redhead with a glare. For a moment, Rosso the Crimson quailed at what she saw. It was almost as though she could see, but not see, the grotesquely warped brown wings that hovered behind her, the bright pink glowing eyes and the metal that was firmly drilled to her forehead. "_**An DyO**_**u'****v****e fo****u****N D**_**our Ta R**_**gET. **_**Stay**_** OuTO f**_**Ou**__**r**__** w**_**a Y.**" With a click of metal and a swish of leather, the Tsviet nearly ripped the door from its hinges as she shoved them open. Rain fell steadily down onto the grassy hill surrounding the ShinRa mansion, and as she walked into the night with a regimented line of Deepground soldiers behind her, Milorr could almost hear a growl of anger from the clouds.

* * *

The rain came down heavily, making the road nearly invisible to Major Marx as he drove. The windshield wipers were working at full power, yet he could hardly see ahead of him for the storm. Beside him in the passenger seat, Mira Fair-Leirbach stared blankly ahead. She hugged her Four Slots tightly to her chest, her large and glowing blue eyes red-rimmed and completely cried-out. Every piece of Materia in the Four Slots was glowing bright and cheerily, yet she held onto one of the slots- the Summon the Dead Materia -as though it was a lifeline.

"What's the matter, kiddo?" Every time he asked, it seemed as though Mira would simply look at him so as to get him to shut up. Every last tear was gone, and now she simply sat in a depressed silence. The Major didn't expect her to answer. She didn't need to.

"Daddy's dead, Vincent's dead an' Russa's gonna try to kill me. I just know it." But she did answer, surprisingly enough. Her eyes were gaunt, dead and vacant with a haunted look to them. The eight-year-old looked as though she had given up, and quite frankly it scared Carl Marx something terrible.

"Summons can't die, SOLDIER brat. Didn't Yuffie ever tell you that?" But try as he may, the Major's half-hearted prodding and annoying nicknames could do nothing to make the little girl smile.

"But Vincent's not a Summon." The resignation in her voice made it seem as though it was no more than a monotone, like she didn't care what anyone told her because she already knew he was dead. Marx sighed, picking up his intercom for the back of the transport.

"Hey, Princess? 'S your boyfriend up yet?" He teased, getting a look from the little girl in the seat next to him that looked so much like one of Vincent's that it was scary. Muffled curses came through the static on the other end, before the system was turned off. Marx smiled, winking at Mira in a conspiratorial fashion. "See?" He asked, taking one hand off the wheel so as to pat the petite girl on the head. She glared again, but said nothing. "They're fine. Go to sleep."

"I'm not tired." Mira punctuated her statement with a yawn, hugging her Four Slots tighter and rubbing her thumb over the grayish-black Summon the Dead. Marx smiled warmly, keeping both eyes on what little road he could see.

"Sure you're not." The two sat in silence for a while, rain and the engine of the WRO transport the only sounds made. Mira turned her Four Slots around and around, running her thumb over each little bit of Materia inset into it. She stopped on the now visibly pink Blank Materia, rubbing at it with her thumb. She brought it to her face, squinting hard at it in the dim light of the cab.

"What's that piece?" Carl asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl's obvious perplexion. She shrugged, rubbing her thumb on the orb.

"Aerith Gainsb'rough gave it to me for my birthday. It used to be clear, but every time it rains it gets a little pinker." The eight-year-old supplied, sliding the accessory over her hand and wrapping both arms around her legs. "When it's done with what it wants to be, I hope I have enough MP to use it."

"Maybe it'll make you invincible!" The Major joked, smiling and laughing at his own little joke. A tiny smile came to Mira's face, but it disappeared nearly as soon.

"Maybe you're right." She said, leaning on the passenger-side window and staring out into the rain.

* * *

**Feh. About half this chapter was written during school today. Which is kinda sad, since I thought it was Wednesday. Thank gods I brought my computer to school, eh? That woulda been terrible if I hadn't. I had a donut for breakfast today, too! And in AP European History, we had a debate on current US politics! Gods, Hillary Clinton is being so stupid when she comes to Eugene... She's gonna be speaking in the auditorium of South Eugene High School, which only fits two thousand people. Obama spoke in Mac Court, which seats ten thousand. He filled it, and three thousand people were outside trying to listen in.**

**She's only doing it so that she can say she filled the venue. Hehe, she makes me laugh. She probably won't even fill it. **


	13. Love and Loveless

**Remnant of Dreams**

©®™ _Lt. Commander Richie_

**Disclaimer: **_Don't own it. If I did, Zack's death would have been dubbed better. _**_No_**_ emotion. Whatsoever. Except for Cloud's scream. Angeal wouldn't have kicked it, Genesis wouldn't have been adopted by Weiss and Nero (and probably would have been a much harder boss), and I'd actually be able to unlock/find Minerva. Did I mention that Genesis should have been harder to beat?_

_Chapter 13_

* * *

Early morning in Edge was much like every other time of day in Edge. It was gray, and it was dull, and it was depressing. Coffee, started the night before, bubbled happily on the kitchen counter next to the bread box and the open cartons of milk and orange juice. Besides that and small munching sounds, everything in Seventh Heaven was relatively quiet. Tifa slowly opened her eyes to be met with a face full of arm, but slowly smiled and snuggled into it and deeper under the thick comforter. Cloud mumbled something in his sleep, his other arm pulling her closer to him subconsciously. The silence in the room was perfectly golden, and slowly the martial artist began falling back to sleep.

"Tiiiifaaaaa!" The brunette muttered something incoherent, using one hand to pull the blankets up over her head and pulled one pillow over to cover her ears. Cloud grumbled and pulled her tighter, nestling his head into her neck. "Tifa, Denzel took my Cap'n Cactuars!"

"No I didn't!" Came the reply, followed by more incoherent and slightly sugar-high screaming. Tifa grumbled and blew spiky blond hair out of her face, removing the pillow from her ears and putting a hand to Cloud's cheek. He mumbled something and snuggled closer to her, and she sighed in exasperation. After a while, the random and rather cute sleeping habits of the swordsman became less of a surprise and more of a nuisance for the martial artist that kind of, sort of, wanted to get out of bed without waking him up.

"Tiiiifaaaaa!" This time, two voices raised in unison as the early-rising perpetrators of a more-than-likely mess in the kitchen attempted to tell on the other.

"Ih'heyunhuhp'n g'haht'beh I'gn'acha hemt'her wi'hafihhihnsohd." Cloud muttered groggily, roughly translating to _'If they don't shut up and go back to bed, I'm chasing them there with a sword'_.Hisbright mako-blue eyes were bleary and clouded with sleep, and he blinked them a few times to clear his vision. The swordsman rolled away from Tifa's side, putting a hand to his head and moaning. Tifa rolled onto her stomach, fully awake and rather annoyed. She brushed some hair out of her eyes, one of the straps of her nightgown falling from her shoulder.

"It's Saturday, let them do what they want." She said, blinking several times to clear what little sleep that was left from her eyes. Cloud sighed and then yawned, sitting up and itching at the small bit of stubble on his chin.

"Tifa!" The door was thrown open and Marlene rushed in, a wet orange stain coloring the shoulder of her white nightgown. She threw herself onto the bed and crawled across Cloud's legs, diving under the comforter and pulling a pillow over her head as Denzel ran in with juice dripping from his hair.

"... Let them do what they want?" Sarcasm almost seemed to drip from the blond's voice as the swordsman whose shins had just been kicked several times looked over the girl between them at the martial artist. Tifa sighed and threw her covers off, putting them back over Marlene and pulling her nightgown strap back up onto her shoulder.

"Denzel, go wash up." She said shortly, walking to the curtains and throwing them open. Cloud winced and shaded his eyes from the morning light, blinking several times to clear his vision of spots. The boy groaned mournfully, wiping orange juice out of his eyes, but complied and left the room. Marlene threw the pillow and comforter away from herself, scrambling away from the bed and over to Tifa.

"Tifa? Where's the bleach?" The young girl asked, pulling at the edge of the brunette's nightgown with one hand and picking at the orange stain on her own nightgown with the other. The bartender smiled, leaning down to the girl and putting a hand on the stain. Her fingers came away sticky, and she wiped them on her knee.

"It's in the third cabinet on the left, next to the washing machine. Read the directions carefully." Marlene nodded once cheerfully, smiling and giggling slightly before running for the door. "Don't let that stain set!" An affirmative answer was yelled back, followed by relative silence. Tifa turned to once again look out the window, starting suddenly after a few moments when the alarm clock on the bedside table began to beep.

"You're jumpy today." Cloud silenced it, climbing out of bed and walking to the closet. With a tug it was open, a pair of shoes falling from an overstuffed shelf and nearly hitting him on the foot. From the mass of crumpled clothing the blond drew a shirt and pair of pants, using a foot to kick his fallen shoes towards the bed for later wear.

"The WRO hasn't called back about Vincent yet. I'm just worried, is all." Tifa shook her head once and turned away from the window, walking towards the messy closet and shivering slightly as she left the throw carpet on her side of the bed and trekked onto cold wooden flooring.

"Vincent will be fine. If Hojo did anything just to spite him, it was to make him unkillable." The swordsman pulled on his shirt and zipped it up, reaching for his pants next. Tifa pulled open her side of the closet, exposing a neat collection of clothing all on their proper hangars or folded in her laundry basket.

"I suppose you're right." She said, pulling out a top and a pair of pants. "I just hope that everyone else is alright."

* * *

"_My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I?_" The viewscreen was an electric blue, white hair tinted the same color as the lights as the speaker leaned forward towards the screen.

"_Loveless again? You're so predictable. Your brother will be angry that you've stolen his book again._" Milorr's head was turned gently to one side, her voice soft and mothering. She had a loving smile on her face, and it would have been like a mother's proud smile besides the fact that it just looked so wrong on the Tsviet.

"You're not my mother. How does your mission fare?" The smile melted away to be replaced with a sneer, and the loving gaze the silver-haired woman had held was replaced by one of manic glee. Milorr turned towards the viewscreen, one sharp canine showing through her ghastly-looking smile.

"Rosso found my target. She's not as useless as she seemed to be." Weiss cocked an eyebrow, glowing eyes betraying incredulity.

"Are you after her?" He asked, and the Tsviet on the other end nodded. The transport she was in bounced to one side, and she pitched forward to smack her forehead on the viewscreen.

"Be careful, you blathering idiots! **Do**_**n'T**_** M****a****ke **_**M**_**e c****oMe u**_**p th**_**e****RE**!" The silver-haired woman screeched, holding one clawed hand to her forehead. "Yes, I'm after her. She's going to the WRO base in Edge. It shouldn't be too hard to take her somewhere secluded... And finish her."

"Remember your mission, and refrain from acting upon petty vendettas." Weiss frowned, watching as Milorr broughther hand down from her forehead and put on a somewhat-pitiable face. But then it was gone, replaced by a new manic grin that showed sharpened canines and perfectly straight teeth.

"Don't worry so much. I can keep my head." She began, her bangs swaying from side to side as the transport went over a bump. "And before you know it, Ariana the Drear's whelp will be dead."

* * *

**Yare, yare... This woulda been longer, but It's already a day late... So yeah. Man, I'm seriously getting bored with this. It's not much fun to write it anymore.**

**Anyone here heard 'Circle of Fire' by Tempo (128 bpm)? It's the one based on Axel from KH2. Well, the girl wrote and performed another one, called Black Ice. It's Zack's death in a song. Really sad, makes me wanna cry, yadda yadda yadda...**


End file.
